In Powell vs. rat, question boils down to belief

After U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's amazing speech Wednesday to the UN Security Council, it seems we've been given a choice.

It is a question of believing. Do we believe Powell or the rat of Iraq?

It comes down to that.

We can walk away from the question, but only for a time, say a few weeks, at most.

Powell established a powerful case for war against Iraq. He outlined the deception, the yearning for nuclear power, the acquisition of banned weapons.

Yet there are those people of good conscience, thoughtful people, who oppose any military muscling of Iraq. It's time for them to stand up too, and make their case just as rationally as Powell did, if possible.

And let's not forget the true doves who have been consistently against war over the years, like those who loudly condemned the wholesale Easter bombing of Serbia a few years ago.

Remember them? No? You didn't hear them? Not even Hollywood actors? I'm sure they said something.

Slobodan Milosevic was a murderer who had to be removed. Saddam Hussein is worse, and he wants nukes.

Iraqi officials, whose families could be tortured if they say the wrong thing, insisted that Powell's speech was full of lies.

It's all a mistake, they said. They want to live in peace.

And some Americans, such as U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), weren't too impressed either, saying the White House must answer many, many questions, including how many casualties are expected and a tally of the cost of a war.

Kennedy's father wasn't too impressed with warning arguments about Nazi Germany and didn't think Adolf Hitler was anything for us to worry about, and so was unceremoniously yanked from an ambassador's job by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Yet, drawing such comparisons might be considered shallow and rude, perhaps even mean-spirited, so in the spirit of united resolve, please just forget what I said.

Iraqis, meanwhile, were also predictably skeptical.

"This was a typical American show, complete with stunts and special effects," said Amir al-Saadi, the top science adviser to Hussein. "It is really below the level of a country leading the world now to come up with such allegations and ideas.

"What we heard today was for the general public and mainly the uninformed in order to influence their opinion and commit aggression on Iraq."

Even though he's on Hussein's payroll and probably flinches when the Iraqi dictator scratches an eyebrow, you have to agree with a portion of what al-Saadi said.

It's the portion that goes "what we heard today was for the general public."

Because that's who it was for--the general public. The general public in Europe--particularly Britain, France and Germany--and Russia.

And, most important, the general public here, in America. Those who aren't convinced now that Hussein must be removed and pronto will never be convinced. But after Powell's speech, that number must be shrinking.

Formally, Powell's speech was an appeal to members of the Security Council, the diplomats and decision-makers. But their people have been stoking up on a diet of anti-American slogans lately, and the politicians will need some political cover if they side with the U.S. when the shooting starts.

And Powell gave it to them, brilliantly.

Powell didn't offer an emotional appeal so as to send a tingle through the hawks. There was no theatrical fist waving or shoe pounding. And he ignored my rat-in-the-bedroom idea.

Those who were waiting for theatrics were disappointed.

All Powell did was offer a methodical case for Hussein's removal. It was surprisingly unemotional, clinical, measured and precise, in common language delivered with common sense, and that is what made it breathtaking.

"He didn't have to prove it to me," said Sen. Joseph Biden, the Delaware Democrat. "I think he had to make the case to the United Nations and the world, and he did it in just the right manner. He didn't use rhetorical flourishes, it was somber and sober and just the right tone."

Powell somberly discussed Iraq's mobile biological weapons facilities that have been moved on trucks and rail cars, to be hidden from weapons inspectors. He talked about small radio-controlled drone airplanes that could be armed with "biological agents."

He released satellite photos showing Iraqis cleaning up weapons sites just before the UN inspectors arrived. He offered damning audiotape of Iraqi military officers conspiring to trick the inspectors, and he drew links to terrorism.