Clinton, Albright, Cohen, Berger and Tenet discuss the issue of Iraq at Camp David Sunday

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Iraq spurns new U.N. resolution on arms inspections

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• U.S. could strike quickly
• Hope abandoned for enforcing searches
• Related stories and sites

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton is likely to make a decision on whether to use military force against Iraq within the next 24 to 48 hours, a high-placed source said Sunday.

Clinton was meeting with his top national security advisers on Sunday, seeking a conclusive solution to a seemingly endless cat-and-mouse game with Iraq over eliminating its weapons of mass destruction.

U.S. officials say they want to end Iraq's refusal to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors by using diplomatic pressure on President Saddam Hussein, although an attack on key military targets is also being considered.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Defense Secretary William Cohen, National Security Adviser Sandy Berger and CIA Director George Tenet were meeting with Clinton at his country retreat at Camp David in Maryland.

Annan

One source told CNN said that if the U.S. decides to use force against Iraq, it could do so quickly. The Pentagon considered military action in a previous standoff with Iraq over arms inspections that was defused in February by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"Everything is prepared, because it was prepared once before," said the source, who asked to remain unidentified.

Clinton was not likely to make "hard and fast decisions" about the Iraq crisis on Sunday, the source said.

Sources confirmed to CNN that the United States has abandoned hope of enforcing the U.N. weapons searches and has turned more to containing Iraq through sanctions and the use of force.

U.S. officials concede that an attack on Baghdad would mean the expulsion of the remaining U.N. inspectors and the end of the U.S. Special Commission (UNSCOM), which was established to monitor Iraq's weapons program.

U.S. analysts say Clinton faces tough choices.

If he does not have full international backing, any military assault could seriously upset allies in the region, particularly Arabs, and may have little effect on Iraq's long-term ability to produce chemical and biological arms.

Only Britain has said that it fully supports military action if necessary to force Iraq to comply with U.N. demands.

If Clinton continues a policy adopted after the last standoff in February, putting the onus on the United Nations to solve the dispute by diplomacy, he risks damaging U.S. credibility as well as the revival of a serious threat to stability in the Middle East.

Reuters contributed to this report.