Prominent US senators warned the White House today they would seek a central role for the United Nations in any attack on Iraq when lawmakers take up formal debate on the matter, perhaps as early as tomorrow.
Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a leading Republican skeptic of President George W. Bush's Iraq policies, said the prospects for creating a democratic Iraq that could help stabilize the Middle East hinge on getting international backing for any US action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"Diplomacy is essential for creating the international political environment that will be required for any action we take in Iraq, especially how we sustain a democratic transition in a post-Saddam Iraq," Mr Hagel said in a speech to the Eisenhower Institute.
Mr Hagel along with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Mr Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat, and Senator Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican, pushed for changes in a draft resolution to force Mr Bush to work more closely with the United Nations and to report to Congress every 30 days on the Iraq situation instead of the proposed 90.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Democratic Majority Leader Mr Tom Daschle said the chamber was likely to open several days debate on the Iraq war powers resolution tomorrow.
White House officials fear any delays in congressional approval could complicate their efforts to push a new resolution through the United Nations to sanction the use of force against Saddam if he failed to disarm quickly.