Presenting a long-awaited dossier on Iraq, Blair told parliament Tuesday that President Saddam Hussein may be only a year or two away from possessing a nuclear bomb, and has "military plans" for the use of chemical and biological weapons -- "deployable within 45 minutes of an order to use them."

The Financial Times said the government dossier offered no compelling evidence that immediate military action was needed.

"Nor does it present a strong argument against a policy of enhanced containment. Its strongest impact might be in reinforcing the case for a UN resolution that requires aggressive inspections", the business daily said.

The Independent said that Saddam's ability to produce some weapons of mass destruction was not in doubt.

"What must be doubted is whether he currently has the mentality and motive to use them against the West, or against the West's allies and friends.

"Without evidence to suggest that he does, the case for unilateral military action against Iraq collapses. And it is on these points that both the dossier and Tony Blair's statements in the House of Commons were weakest."

The right-wing Daily Mail said that Blair's performance before the House of Commons was convincing, but added: "What the public and an increasing number of military experts remain to be persuaded about is the supposed need for a pre-emptive campaign against him rather than a continuation of the containment that has held him in check these past 10 years."

"No" was the front page headline of the left-of-centre Mirror tabloid, which asked if Blair had proved a case for an attack on Iraq.

There was not enough evidence "to convince us that we are wrong to believe that a lot can be done before the last desperate resort is reached and the bombers and the troops are sent in."

The conservative Times daily said: "The dossier released yesterday by Downing Street did not contain a 'silver bullet' which would convince the entire country that Iraq must be confronted.

"Tony Blair's document did, however, provide the government with additional ammunition. It made a credible case that Iraq has intensified its illegal activities in the past four years, a serious step change that other reports had not outlined."

However, the right-wing Sun tabloid urged the international community to "stand up for itself, uphold the authority of the UN, and do what it takes to disarm and dislodge Saddam".

The paper's political editor Trevor Kavanagh said: "Anyone who has heard him (Blair) speak, listened to President George Bush at the UN, or read the intelligence dossier... can be left with only one question.

"It is not: Why Saddam? Or what next? It is why on earth it has taken so long for the UN, and the so-called international community, to confront this appalling mass murderer."

The conservative Daily Telegraph said that the impulse for confronting Saddam was the "unprecedented attack on America in September last year, an atrocity which led George W.Bush to declare global war on terrorists and the regimes which sponsor them."

Yet Blair's comments mentioned terror only in connection with the Palestinians, the paper said.

"By emphasising disarmament at the expense of terror, the prime minister raises awkward questions: why single out Iraq, for example, and ignore the much more volatile situation on the Indian subcontinent?"

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