With American soldiers dying nearly every day in Iraq, the Bush administration has decided to negotiate with the United Nations Security Council on a multinational force under US command that would encourage more countries to contribute troops and money.
With Britain holding the rotating presidency of the 15-nation council, diplomats said Washington hoped a resolution it had drafted would be adopted before the last week of September, when President George W Bush addresses the annual General Assembly parade of world leaders.
"We've got language. It enhances; it elaborates; it talks about how countries can contribute," a State Department official in Washington said late last night.
"It's on how to define further the vital role of the UN in political, military and economic areas and how to provide ways for the UN members to support efforts by the Iraqi people, " the official said.
Key in the US proposal was a suggestion first disclosed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on August 22nd after discussions in New York with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
This was for the troops in Iraq to be converted to a UN-endorsed multinational force, similar to that in Kosovo, under an American command.
But the force would not be a traditional blue-helmeted peacekeeping operation organized by the United Nations. In practice, this would mean a larger command center to include officers from all troop contributing nations.
Unlike in Kosovo, the United Nations in Iraq does not control the administration of the country. A larger political role for the world body was not immediately clear but diplomats said it would probably involve organizing the election process for a new Iraqi government.