98 Cherokee 200k

I was driving the other day, and i started to hear this howling sound. Almost sounded like a ghost. This noice eventually got louder, progressed into a rattle, then eventually a dying whining, and then the jeep crapped out.

When I popped the hood, there was smoke coming from where the belt meets the a.c. compresser.

Is this a failure of the idler pulley or what else could it be?

 

a/c compressor seized up?

 

Could be the water pump. Mine went out last week and had made the same sounds. Did the smoke smell like coolant or just rubber from the belt?

 

While the belt is off, turn stuff with your hands?