John Howard is a key supporter of the US position

In a national televised address from the parliament in Canberra, Mr Howard, a strong supporter of Washington, said the chances of a peaceful resolution to the crisis did not appear to be very bright.

He said that if the United Nations Security Council failed to support the United States, Iraq's biological, chemical and nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists.

The world must confront the twin evils of the spread of weapons of mass destruction to rogue states and the danger of those weapons falling into the hands of international terrorists Prime Minister John Howard

Outside the parliament building, hundreds of anti-war demonstrators voiced their opposition to Australia's support for Washington's policy in the Gulf.

But inside, Mr Howard gave the strongest hint yet that Australia is ready to fight alongside the US without the support of the United Nations.

He said the crisis in Iraq was challenging, difficult and perplexing, and warned that if the new resolution was not adopted it would be a victory for Saddam Hussein.

Mr Howard said doing nothing would prove to be costly in the future.

International threat

Much of the prime minister's address focused on international terrorism.

Mr Howard said that disarming Iraq would also reduce the threat of atrocities being carried out around the world.

"I have the strongest possible belief that the world must confront the twin evils of the spread of weapons of mass destruction to rogue states and the danger of those weapons falling into the hands of international terrorists," Mr Howard said.

"That would be to me - and to my government - the ultimate nightmare," he said.

Mr Howard went on to say that if the international community failed to deal with Iraq, then it had no hope of disciplining North Korea, which had "blatantly violated" its nuclear obligations.

Australia's conservative government has been one of the strongest supporters of America's push to disarm Baghdad.

It has deployed 2,000 troops to the Gulf along with fighter jets and navy support vessels.

But many Australians oppose military action and opinion polls suggest the majority are against a conflict without UN backing.

Australia has also faced criticism from its Muslim neighbours, Indonesia and Malaysia, who are both opposed to an American-led attack on Iraq.

But Chris Gallas, the Australian parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs denied that there was a rift between Australia and southeast Asia.

"We are not sharply at odds with our neighbours, we actually work very closely with our Muslim neighbours," she told the BBC's East Asia Today programme.

She said that Indonesia in particular had been very co-operative in fighting terrorism following the attack in Bali.

"Muslims the world over understand that this is a specific war against a specific dictator, and the fact that he is a Muslim is irrelevant," she said.