HIGLIGHTS|| Washington Portrays Tape as Evidence that Iraq & Al-Qaeda Are in Cahoots|| However, Tape, Judged by Experts as Almost Certainly Authentic, Condemns Saddam as 'Infidel'|| Tape Reinforces Jitters Over Feared Terror Attacks in the United States|| France Informally Presents Alternative Proposal to War on Iraq to UN Security Council|| Anglo-American Jets Attack Battlefield Missiles in Southern Iraq|| STORYOsama bin Laden, blamed for the worst attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor, has taken center stage in the Iraq crisis with the release of a tape exhorting Muslims to fight the "allies of the devil."

The United States, eager to bolster support for a possible war against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, portrayed the audiotape broadcast by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite television channel on Tuesday as evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda were in cahoots.

But the tape, which several experts said was almost certainly authentic, condemned Saddam as an infidel while saying it did not hurt that the interests of Muslims coincided with those of the Iraqi government in "the war against the crusaders."

The tape thrust Bin Laden's al Qaeda network, blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States that killed about 3,000 people, into the middle of the showdown over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction as serious divisions have emerged on the issue between Washington and three major European powers -- France, Germany and Russia.

The broadcast reinforced jitters over a feared new terror attack in the United States, where the Bush administration has advised Americans to keep tape and plastic sheeting available so they can seal off a "safe room" against radiation, deadly germs or chemical gas.

President Bush, whose avowed aim is to force Saddam from power, has called the possibility of his providing terror groups with biological, chemical or nuclear weapons one of the main reasons for ensuring that Iraq is disarmed.

VICTORY COMES FROM GOD ALONE: BIN LADEN

The chief U.N. weapons inspectors, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, are due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Friday on their efforts to assess Iraq's arms programs in an address Washington has described as "very important" in deciding whether to go to war.

Bush, facing opposition to a war against Iraq from Paris, Berlin and Moscow, has said the Sept. 11 attacks made it clear the United States had to launch preemptive action if necessary to defend itself.

The bin Laden tape stressed "the importance of martyrdom (suicide) attacks ... (which) inflicted on America and Israel a disaster they have never experienced before."

"We are following with great concern the preparations of the crusaders to launch war on the former capital of Muslims ... and to install a puppet government," it said. "Fight the allies of the devil. I remind you that victory comes from God alone."

CALLS FOR POLITICAL UPHEAVAL

The tape also urged Muslims to liberate themselves from "oppressive, unjust, apostate ruling governments, which in turn are enslaved by America. ... The most eligible for liberation are Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the tape corroborated U.S. charges that al Qaeda and the Iraqis were in contact and cooperating.

"The secretary (Colin Powell) made clear that we thought they were bound by a common hatred. That is what brought them together and I think that's really what you did have bin Laden confirming today in this tape," Boucher told al-Jazeera.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the tape "underscores what the president and Secretary Powell have said about al Qaeda linking up with Iraq."

Saddam, whose secular government is at odds with bin Laden's brand of militant Islam, has denied links to al Qaeda and rejects allegations that he is concealing chemical or biological weapons.

FRANCE PRESENTS ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL

At the United Nations, France on Tuesday proposed expanding U.N. security units in Iraq as a way of bolstering inspections as an alternative to war

Taking the offensive against the United States and Britain, the four-page informal paper drafted by the French called for a tripling of the number of inspectors and security units, presumably U.N. guards, to ensure that a suspect site would remain "frozen."

The United States has said time is running out for Iraq to heed Security Council Resolution 1441, passed in November, calling on it to detail all its illegal arms programs. Bush has made clear he will go to war without U.N. approval if he considers it necessary.

ANGLO-AMERICAN JETS ATTACK BATTLEFIELD MISSILES IN SOUTHERN IRAQ

Aircraft taking part in U.S.-British patrols attacked a battlefield missile system in southern Iraq on Tuesday in an unusual response to Iraqi threats against the air patrols, the U.S. military said.

U.S. defense officials said the strike destroyed at least one truck-borne Ababil-100 surface-to-surface missile, its launcher and support vehicles in the southern "no-fly" zone near Basra.

The launcher is capable of quickly firing four of the rockets, which can each carry explosive warheads or up to 25 anti-tank "bomblets" and have a battlefield range of 80 to 90 miles.

The air strike came as U.S. and British forces massed in the Gulf region for a possible invasion. The Western armies are expected to be ready to launch a war within weeks

OTHER KEY DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING IRAQ

* -Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said the future of the 53-year-old NATO (news - web sites) military alliance is at risk if it fails to confront the crisis with Iraq. "The alliance is breaking itself up because it will not meet its responsibilities," Powell said. A day earlier, NATO members France, Germany and Belgium rejected a U.S. plan to bolster Turkey's defenses in anticipation of a possible attack by Iraq.

* _ Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that U.S. military action against Iraq without U.N. consent would be a "grave error," and hinted that Russia might use its veto on the Security Council against any "unreasonable use of force."

* _ Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix urged two Iraqi commissions searching for banned weapons material and new documents to "produce results" before he reports to the Security Council on Friday. The reports by Blix and nuclear inspection chief Mohamed ElBaradei assessing Iraq's cooperation are considered critical to the Security Council's determination of next steps in Iraq.

* _ China joined France and Russia in opposing the United States plan to force Saddam Hussein to disarm. Chinese President Jiang Zemin, in a telephone call with French President Jacques Chirac, said China backed the French call for strengthening weapons inspections. As permanent members of the Security Council, the three countries have the power to veto resolutions.

* _ Amnesty International urged the United Nations to confront the human cost of war on Iraq and prepare for a humanitarian disaster that could be worse than during the 1991 conflict.

PHOTO CAPTION

An audio tape broadcast February 11, 2003, said to be from fugitive Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, warned Arab states against backing any U.S.-led war on Iraq and said suicide attacks were important in fighting America. Osama bin Laden is pictured in this undated file photo.