The reports are to be delivered at a high-level council meeting scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Based on previews from the inspectors, the reports will likely include the kind of evidence that both sides of the debate will use to bolster their cases for and against going to war now. But they will be pivotal for some undecided council members seeking a compromise on the Iraq crisis. 

President Bush, warning the council Thursday that the diplomatic process was coming to an end, said he would soon seek a vote on a U.S.-backed resolution authorizing war. 

"We're days away from resolving this issue in the Security Council," Bush said during a news conference in Washington. "No matter what the whip count is, we're calling for the vote. It's time for people to show their cards, let the world know where they stand when it comes to Saddam." 

The resolution, sponsored together with Britain and Spain, faces stiff opposition led by France, Russia, China and Germany. Despite weeks of diplomatic maneuvering, Washington has been unable to muster the nine votes necessary for the resolution's passage. 

Both the president and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have said that if necessary, they would go to war without U.N. support. But both know that U.N. backing would give the war international legitimacy, guarantee that rebuilding costs would be shared by members of the organization and preserve the council's role in matters of global peace and security. 

Speaking particularly about French and German opposition to the U.S. plan, Bush said: "We have a disagreement over how best to deal with Saddam Hussein. I understand that. Having said that, they're still our friends." 

Hans Blix, whose team heads the search for Baghdad's biological, chemical and missile programs, gave a preview of his report earlier this week by saying that Iraq is now cooperating "a great deal more" and engaging in "real disarmament." 

Still, he couldn't say Iraq was fully complying with its obligations, and he plans to brief the council on a 167-page document he has prepared listing the series of outstanding disarmament issues. 

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who has seen a copy of the document, described it as "a shocking indictment of the record of Saddam Hussein's deception and deceit, but above all, of the danger which he poses to the region and to the world." 

But Blix's counterpart who runs the nuclear inspections suggested Thursday he would tell the council that abandoning the weapons inspections makes little sense so long as the Iraqis are actively cooperating. 

"That's clearly the gist of my presentation: In my area, inspection is working. We are making progress. There's no reason to scuttle the process," Mohamed ElBaradei told The Associated Press. 

ElBaradei, who has already told the council his inspectors have found no evidence that Iraq is restarting a nuclear program, said his assessment would contain no surprises or new revelations. 

Instead, he planned to highlight fresh Iraqi resolve to cooperate by encouraging scientists to consent to U.N. interviews and turn over documents. He also intended to plead anew for more time - at least two or three more months - for inspectors to do their work. 

In an article in Friday's Wall Street Journal, ElBaradei said his nuclear inspectors should be able to provide a definitive report soon. 

"The IAEA should be able in the near future to provide the Security Council with credible assurances regarding the presence or absence of a nuclear-weapons program in Iraq," ElBaradei wrote. 

With 300,000 troops massing in the region, Washington must now find a way to get the council on its side. 

Still, Bush didn't throw his support behind a percolating British compromise to amend the resolution and give Saddam a short deadline to prove he has eliminated all banned weapons. "As far as ultimatums ... we'll just wait and see," Bush said. 

It wasn't the only sign of disagreement between Washington and London. 

Bush was very clear that Saddam must go, saying: "In order to disarm (Iraq), it will mean regime change." 

Straw said that was not the aim of his government. If Iraq disarms in compliance with U.N. resolutions, then "we accept that the government of Iraq stays in place," he said. 

Straw said Britain was willing to compromise on the wording of the resolution as long as the final text still included an authorization for military action. But Straw's demand was unlikely to be acceptable to key council powers such as France and Russia. 

British diplomats floated the idea of attaching a short deadline giving Saddam a brief period to prove he has no more banned weapons, or face war. 

"The Americans and the British have been working together, and specifically what we'll put in the resolution, if anything, remains to be seen," a U.S. official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who will represent the European Union at the Security Council meeting, will present the council with a plan including benchmarks that Iraq must implement "in a specific time frame," said Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis. 

The Greek proposal appeared very similar to a Canadian compromise favored by some council members which would give Saddam until the end of the month. 

Bush called Mexican President Vicente Fox on Thursday to try to persuade him to back the United States. Fox said later that he sensed there was still room for compromise and called on "the other extreme" - presumably France and Germany - to try to reach an agreement.