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Powell prepares multimedia speech
NEW YORK (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will present a multimedia presentation to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. He will unveil video, slides and audiotapes of intelligence intercepts as evidence supporting the Bush administration's claim Iraq is deceiving U.N. weapons inspectors, U.S. officials say. One official described the presentation as a narrative full of "stories with sub-plots," and said Powell may wear a wireless microphone so that he can stand up and move around as he speaks. As he left the U.S. mission at the United Nations on Tuesday, Powell had this response to Saddam Hussein's claims that he has no weapons of mass destruction: "Prove it." When Powell comes to the horseshoe-shaped Security Council table Wednesday, he will be accompanied by CIA Director George Tenet, who will sit behind him. A senior State Department official said Tenet's presence was "part of the credibility of the whole package" -- a "personal endorsement" of Powell's message. At the other end of the table will be Mohammed Aldouri, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations. Aldouri will be seated next to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, a staunch critic of the Iraqi regime. Aldouri is expected to give a speech, but only after the 15 members of the Security Council have addressed the world body. The Security Council is to be called to order at 10:15 a.m., with Powell's presentation to begin around 10:30 a.m. Twelve foreign ministers will be present for the meeting in the most anticipated live television presentation there since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. U.N. officials say there will be more television feeds than usual, with one camera dedicated to Powell and another for his presentation items. Powell's speech is expected to last about 90 minutes. Among the evidence, U.S. officials say, Powell will play audiotapes of intercepted conversations in which Iraqis talk about concealing evidence from inspectors and coaching scientists on how to answer questions. They say Powell will also present satellite photographs of material being moved from sites in Iraq just prior to visits by U.N. inspectors, and intelligence detailing Iraqi imports of banned weapons materials. In addition, Powell will detail travels in and out of Iraq by some al Qaeda operatives and some contacts with Iraq, but the officials say Powell will not suggest any formal alliance exists. Officials said Powell's highly technical and elaborate presentation will include approximately 30 slides, several audiotape intercepts and satellite photographs. They said the bulk of the presentation will focus on weapons of mass destruction, with a "healthy" portion devoted to terrorism links and a smaller portion dedicated to Iraq's human rights record. After Powell speaks, each member nation will then be allowed to speak for six to eight minutes apiece. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the two chief U.N. weapons inspectors, Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei, are to attend but are not expected to speak. The only member nations that will not be represented by foreign ministers are Syria, Guinea and Angola. On the eve of Powell's presentation, officials involved in the preparation said they were "still scrubbing stuff," referring to the formal process of declassifying intelligence. Powell has been intimately involved in reviewing the U.S. intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction program, as well as on Iraq's alleged links to terrorist groups, officials said. Since last week, Powell has met with intelligence analysts and has read "multiple drafts" of the speech. "Everything he's going to present has been thoroughly vetted," said one senior State Department official. On Tuesday afternoon, Powell held one final practice at the U.S. mission to the United Nations with Tenet.
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