Maine’s senators convinced

PORTLAND – Secretary of State Colin Powell made a convincing case against Iraq on Wednesday, said U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.

A poll released a day earlier showed a slim majority of Mainers support invading the country.

While he found the evidence discussed by Powell “extremely troubling,” U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud said he still does not support military action in Iraq “unless all other options have been exhausted and Saddam Hussein’s regime poses a clear and present danger to the security of the United States or our allies.” Fellow Democratic Rep. Tom Allen stressed the importance of continuing to work through the U.N. Security Council rather than going it alone.

Collins said Powell “delivered a comprehensive, detailed presentation” and Snowe described it as “clear, convincing, specific and well-corroborated.”

Powell used photos, videos and tapes of intercepted conversations to show that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons programs and is still working to develop and conceal nuclear weapons.

Both Republican senators had urged President Bush to provide more evidence, and both seemed satisfied.

“The ‘cat and mouse’ game that Iraq heretofore has played must end,” Collins said. “Now it is time for our allies to join the United States in exerting maximum pressure on Saddam to comply immediately and fully with the U.N. inspections.”

Snowe, who also expressed concerns about Iraq’s links to al-Qaida, said the world community should join the United States in insisting on full compliance with U.N. resolutions, “or if necessary, action to enforce those resolutions with military force.”

Michaud, a Democrat, said there “were still major unanswered questions” about whether unilaterally initiating military action against Iraq was the best way to make the United States any safer.

He said he was concerned about exposing American soldiers to chemical or biological attacks, and supported allowing U.N. inspections “to move forward so that international cooperation and pressure can peacefully reduce this threat.”

Rep. Tom Allen said Powell laid out a compelling case that Iraq was deceiving U.N. inspectors and that the U.N. Security Council must now decide how to compel compliance and disarm Iraq.

“President Bush must continue to work through the U.N. Security Council,” Allen said. “The broadest possible multilateral coalition is the best assurance of success, and can help limit adverse consequences inherent in a go-it-alone approach.”

A poll released Tuesday by Market Decisions, a South Portland research company, showed Mainers were mixed on the issue of Iraq.

The poll showed a slim majority of Mainers favored invading Iraq to topple Saddam’s government, but the same percentage felt the Bush administration has not done enough to resolve the crisis without force.

All told, 52 percent of respondents favored military action, as opposed to 34 percent against, while 52 percent felt the nation had not done all it could to resolve the crisis without military intervention.

The poll of 400 Mainers was conducted last month. The poll had a sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.