The Iraqi crisis has deepened and broadened this week, following President George Bush's return to Washington from holidays. He has not abandoned his expressed objective of changing the Iraqi regime by removing President Saddam Hussein from power.
But his announcement that he will consult congressional leaders, other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and allies about how he intends to proceed has reassured many of them that he will not act unilaterally, as urged by the most hawkish of his advisers.
To convince, he will be obliged to produce clear evidence that the Iraqis have accumulated, and intend to use, weapons of mass destruction in support of terrorist objectives. He will have to produce compelling arguments showing containment and UN sanctions have failed and that pre-emptive military action is required to deal with such a threat to international security.
These are stiff tests, which will require a different approach to international and domestic opinion than has so far been displayed in his administration's policy on Iraq. The difficulties in store were illustrated by the sceptical reaction Mr Bush encountered from President Vladimir Putin of Russia, the Chinese leader Mr Jiang Zemin and President Jacques Chirac of France when he telephoned them yesterday. They are not satisfied that the threat posed by Iraq is so pressing as to demand military action if a new UN resolution is rejected.
Mr Bush has much work to do in drafting an acceptable one. But he has demonstrated his resolve to do so and created an attentive hearing by accepting the obligation to consult. His meeting this weekend with the British prime minister, Mr Tony Blair, is expected to increase the momentum towards achieving his objective, following Mr Blair's clear-cut commitment to join the US in military action. That he would make such a statement despite widespread opposition within the British Labour Party has convinced many that Mr Blair is serious and intends to bring his government with him.
Over coming weeks and months a major political and diplomatic effort will be made by the US to convince a sceptical world that the Iraqi regime poses a sufficient threat to global and regional security to justify preventive or pre-emptive military action against it. His readiness to make this effort is welcome, a well-advised policy clarification after weeks of speculation about unilateral action, based on open argument between different factions of his administration. The threat of military action has not been justified by unambiguous evidence of Iraq's direct involvement with those responsible for the murderous attacks on New York and Washington last September 11th. All eyes will be on Mr Bush when he makes his speech to the United Nations General Assembly next week for convincing arguments that Iraq is so involved.