] Colin Powell yesterday swept aside demands from European
] leaders for United Nations primacy in Iraq's post-war
] settlement, insisting that Britain and America had earned
] the right to set policy by sacrificing blood.
]
] Speaking at Nato headquarters during a day of 20 meetings
] with European foreign ministers and top officials, the US
] secretary of state said: "It was the coalition that came
] together on the difficult mission, at political expense,
] at expense of money and treasure, and the expense of
] lives as well.
]
] "When we succeed and look down the road to a better life
] for the Iraqi people to rebuild their society after these
] decades of devastation wrought by Saddam Hussein, the
] coalition has to play the lead role in determining the
] way forward."