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U.S., UK waiting on Iraq resolution
From John King, Suzanne Malveaux and Andrea Koppel
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States and the United Kingdom plan to wait until the middle of next week to propose a new U.N. Security Council resolution that declares Iraq in continued breach of its disarmament obligations, a senior Bush administration official said Thursday. Administration officials decided to hold off on introducing the new resolution in part because it is still trying to round up support -- and to gauge whether France or other permanent Security Council members would use their veto power. For another resolution to pass, it would have to win approval from nine of the 15 members and could not be vetoed by any of the five permanent council members -- Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States. "We still believe that a resolution is appropriate," Powell said in an appearance in Washington Thursday morning with NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson. "We're working on such a resolution, and we won't put a resolution down unless we intend to fight for that resolution, unless we believe we can make the case that the resolution is appropriate." The administration hopes to gain support if Iraq fails to maintain the increase in cooperation U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix cited in his February 14 report to the Security Council. Details 'up in the air'Earlier, several administration officials stressed that things are "up in the air" regarding the timing, content and procedure for introducing a second U.N. resolution. Discussions continue on whether to set a deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to comply, a senior Bush administration official said. Among options under review was to introduce the resolution without a firm guarantee that it would win the nine of 15 votes needed for approval. Under that scenario, officials said, the United States or Britain could withdraw the resolution if it did not get enough votes. Officials said a number of ideas were being floated as possible components in the text of the resolution. In addition to the question of whether it should include a deadline, points under discussion included whether it should include the words "material breach" and whether giving inspectors more time would make a difference, and if so, how much more time. U.S. to push for quick decisionOne senior official said that, once it introduces the resolution, the United States will push the U.N. Security Council for a quick decision. "This will not be a 1441," the official said, referring to the seven weeks council members took to approve Resolution 1441, which sent inspectors back into Iraq. The assistant secretary of state for African affairs is in Africa meeting with officials from three Security Council member nations, in part to persuade them to support a new resolution, the State Department said Thursday. Walter Kansteiner held meetings Thursday in Angola and is expected to travel to Cameroon and Guinea, said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. In addition, a senior administration official said the White House is considering sending a special envoy to Latin America to meet with officials from Mexico and Chile, two other rotating members of the Security Council.
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