The United States brushed aside international criticism tonight and said it would seek UN Security Council authorisation for forcibly disarming Iraq while pressuring Turkey to welcome US troops.
White House spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer said the US was working with its allies on a new measure aimed at enforcing UN Security Council resolution 1441, which warned Iraq of "serious consequences" for failing to disarm, presumed to mean military action.
"The administration is committed to going forward. The administration is continuing to work with our allies about the exact language and drafting of it. And as I indicated, it could be this week, it could be next," he said.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mr George Robertson is set to visit Washington tomorrow for high-level talks on the Iraq crisis as the organisation was due to approve plans to aid Turkey in the event of war, a NATO official said.
Mr Robertson is expected to see President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell just three days after alliance members compromised on measures to defend Turkey in preparation for a possible war in Iraq, ending a rancorous standoff.
Belgium, France and Germany at first had blocked NATO from initiating the military planning, arguing it would send the "wrong signal" while diplomacy continued in a bid to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction.
Already planning Iraq's postwar future, the White House said the country's oil wealth would go a long way toward reconstruction efforts following any military action to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Mr Fleischer defended the option of waging war on Baghdad before unveiling a detailed blueprint to carry out Washington's stated aims of bringing democracy and prosperity to Iraq.
He insisted Saddam's removal would lead to a lifting of international sanctions against Iraq, which would be able to trade freely on world markets, saying Bush was committed to "the long-term stability of Iraq."
The White House meanwhile served notice on Turkey that it has reached "decision time" on whether to host US troops deployed for possible war with Iraq in exchange for an economic assistance package.
Turkey warned earlier that it might stall the move because of a row over how much money Washington is willing to offer to offset economic losses stemming from such a possible conflict.
"We continue to work with Turkey as a friend, but it's decision time," said Mr Fleischer. "It's a matter that I think people can anticipate will be settled one way or another rather soon."
Even as the United States pressured its Muslim ally, Pope John Paul II and UN chief Mr Kofi Annan stressed the need to keep the UN at the forefront of efforts to stave off a US-led military assault on Iraq in talks in the Vatican City.
A Vatican statement released after the 30-minute meeting of two of the loudest opponents of a war underlined the UN's "essential role" in seeking a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
The meeting came as Washington announced it could soon ask the UN Security Council to explicitly authorize an attack on Iraq.
The draft would point out omissions in Iraq's December 8 declaration of its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs, a US official said.
It would also quote the finding, reported by top arms inspector Hans Blix, that Iraq has tested a ballistic missile which exceeds the 150-kilometre limit imposed by the council.
Impatient at what it sees as Baghdad's game playing with UN weapons inspectors, the US has said it would go to war without the council's approval.
The council meanwhile began an open meeting to enable the other UN member states to air their views about the Iraq crisis, with the vast majority expected to oppose military action.
Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed al-Douri accused the United States of seeking to overthrow Saddam's government.
Permanent council member France, along with heavyweights Germany and Russia, wants to give UN weapons inspectors more time to confirm whether or not Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction.
Despite all the diplomatic upheaval, UN inspections continued in Iraq, where weapons experts have tagged dozens of prohibited surface-to-surface Al-Samoud 2 missiles for destruction.
But UN-led interviews with scientists have been less successful. One Iraqi weapons engineer questioned by UN inspectors said such private interviews were useless and stressed he was not ready to leave the country to be interviewed abroad.
AFP