By Nick Assinder BBC News Online political correspondent travelling with the prime minister

Tony Blair may not like the phrase, but few of those travelling with him to his Camp David summit with George Bush were left in any doubt that this was to be a council of war.

I think you have to bother because the potential if someone ever uses a weapon of mass destruction is so huge it is worth dealing with

Tony Blair

Speaking on the plane before it touched down at Andrews Airforce base near Washington, the prime minister repeatedly claimed the time had come for action against Iraq.

"Inaction is not an option. We have to make sure the issue is dealt with one way or another," he said.

He again called for Saddam to allow weapons inspectors unfettered access to sites in Iraq as a means of heading off action.

But, even on that option, he suggested he might back so-called "coercive inspections" which would see the military forcing their way into suspect areas to allow proper examinations.

'First base'

He spoke of the need to forge an international coalition in support of action and claimed that, despite reports, other world leaders accepted there was a problem that had to be addressed.

Many were currently at "first base " - accepting there was an issue which could not be ignored, he said.

Bush will be urged by Blair to form a wide coalition

He also talked about the threat to Britain if Iraq developed weapons of mass destruction - particularly nuclear weapons.

"The threat is very real and it's not just a threat to America or the international community, but to Britain.

"If these weapons are developed and used there is no way that any conflict Saddam initiated using those weapons would not have direct implications for the interests of Britain.

"Just as in the last aggression by Saddam - the annexation of Kuwait - inevitably British interests were involved and we had to be involved in it.

"If that region was once again the subject of a conflict initiated by Saddam there is no way we would be able to stand aside from that," he said.

'Understandable'

He said he understood why people were questioning the need for action now, 10 years after the original Gulf War, but said he had been constantly aware of the issue and warned on many occasions that it could not be ducked.

"I have stuff coming across my desk describing what's happening in different parts of the world and it's perfectly understandable people say there is nothing immediate, it's not on our television screens today, why bother?

"Well I think you have to bother because the potential if someone ever uses a weapon of mass destruction is so huge it is worth dealing with," he said.

So, while there is still much talk of giving Saddam a way out and insistence no decisions have yet been taken, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that Tony Blair is gearing up for war.

He will be urging President Bush to forge as wide an international coalition as possible - similar to the one created before the action against Afghanistan.

And he will undoubtedly give MPs a chance to debate the issue - most likely after he publishes the long awaited dossier of evidence of Saddam's weapons programme.

Reservations

The Camp David summit will also be followed by an intensive campaign aimed at winning over the rest of the world - particularly the five members of the UN security council who Mr Blair desperately wants to back action.

Top of that list will be the prime minister's planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin early next month.

Mr Putin has expressed grave reservations about action against Saddam and is one of the leaders Mr Blair clearly means when he talks about people being at first base.

What neither the prime minister or the president will discuss is the inevitability that they will examine - even if only briefly - he military options.

But as each day passes it becomes increasingly difficult to see how they can ratchet up the talk against Saddam without finally following through with action.