IRAQ: The need for President Bush to consult the US Congress before any invasion of Iraq has been highlighted by the Senate majority leader, Mr Tom Daschle. A spokesman for the senior Democrat said it was not merely a legal issue.
"The issue is whether the President should seek to obtain the full support of the American people and their elected representatives before sending US troops into combat in Iraq," he said.
Democrats said a congressional vote on using force would help overcome international reluctance to attack Iraq and consolidate domestic support.
"It would galvanise the American people behind the President and strengthen his hand as he seeks international support for ousting Saddam Hussein," said Congressman Tom Lantos of California.
Under the Vietnam-era War Powers Act, the President is required to get congressional approval to commit US forces to war for more than 60 days. Presidents of both parties have considered the act unconstitutional and ignored it.
Growing criticism of a possible Iraqi invasion was rebuffed in a speech on Monday by Vice-President Cheney. "What we must not do in the face of a mortal threat is to give in to wishful thinking or wilful blindness," he told military veterans in Nashville, Tennessee.
"We will not simply look away, hope for the best and leave the matter for some future administration to resolve."
He continued: "The imminence of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the huge dangers it involves, the rejection of a viable inspection system and the demonstrated hostility of Saddam Hussein, combine to produce an imperative for pre-emptive action."
Warning that "the risk(s) of inaction are far greater than the risk of action", Mr Cheney argued that the world could not wait until it became clear that Iraq had nuclear weapons before trying to topple Saddam Hussein.
Mr Cheney also envisioned a post-Saddam situation when he described an Iraq "liberated" from its president.
"Regime change in Iraq would bring about a number of benefits to the region. When the gravest of threats are eliminated, the freedom-loving peoples of the region will have a chance to promote the values that can bring lasting peace," he said.
The Chief White House spokesman, Mr Ari Fleischer, said Mr Cheney "did not make the case for a pre-emptive attack, he made the case for the pre-emptive doctrine." He insisted, "It's an important difference." The Washington Post called Mr Cheney's speech "the Bush administration's most extensive and forceful statement about the danger posed by the regime of Saddam Hussein".