THE RACE IS ON

Last week, Dick Cheney, the US defence secretary and Colin Powell, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, flew out to Saudi Arabia to consult with General Norman Schwarzkopf, the US commander, about the timing of an allied ground offensive against Iraq. The obvious assumption was that the United States wanted to get the long-awaited attack under way as soon as possible and before the renewed momentum towards peace talks inhibited military action.