Mary McGrory - I'm Persuaded:

I don't know how the United Nations felt about Colin Powell's "J'accuse" speech against Saddam Hussein. I can only say that he persuaded me, and I was as tough as France to convince.

And the Minneapolis (red)Star Tribune - Powell's speech / Did Russia, France not listen?

It was as if the foreign ministers of China, France and Russia -- especially the latter two -- had not heard a word U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said. Powell's purpose in speaking to the U.N. Security Council Wednesday was to demonstrate that the U.N. weapons inspections program in Iraq is not working because Iraq is very actively trying to defeat it. His case was persuasive. Then came Russia and France to say, respectively, that the inspections have been "effective" and are "working" because they've produced such "significant achievements" as gaining access to Saddam Hussein's palaces. Both went on then to call for beefing up the inspections teams. Their responses were a non sequitur to what Powell had just said.
...
It was a strong, effective case the secretary of state laid out, one that now will inform the inspections program through Feb. 14, when the chief inspectors again will report to the Security Council. Between now and then, France, Russia and other council doves should put maximum pressure on Saddam to disarm. If no better results are seen in those Feb. 14 inspections reports, the United States and Britain are going to challenge everyone on the council to fish or cut bait. Unity is vital, but it is a two-way street.