The US President, Mr George Bush, yesterday pledged that he would seek congressional approval before taking action against Iraq. He also announced that he would argue his case before the UN General Assembly next week.
Mr Bush, under increasing international and domestic pressure to make a convincing case for military-backed action, also said he had invited the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, to meet him at Camp David at the weekend.
As part of an aggressive public relations exercise launched by the White House yesterday, the US President warned US allies their "credibility is at stake" as they decide on whether to co-operate with US action against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"Saddam Hussein is a serious threat. He is a significant problem and something the country must deal with. Doing nothing about that serious threat is not an option for the United States," Mr Bush said after meeting with congressional leaders at the White House.
After weeks of conflicting signals from the administration, officials said yesterday that Mr Bush was considering asking the UN Security Council to pass a resolution setting a deadline for Iraq to open its weapons sites to unrestricted inspection, with the threat of military action if it declined.
The resolution would be drafted in such a way as to avoid a veto by Russia, which has been strengthening diplomatic and business ties with Iraq, while making clear that non-compliance would mean US-led action, officials were reported as saying.
"I will first remind the UN that for 11 long years Saddam Hussein has side-stepped, crawfished, wheedled out of any agreement he had made not to develop weapons of mass destruction," he told reporters in the White House. "So I'm going to call upon the world to recognise that he is stiffing the world. And I will talk about ways to make sure that he fulfils his obligations."
Congressional leaders said after meeting Mr Bush in the White House that they would vote before the November 5th mid-term elections on a non-binding resolution on Iraq.
"It would not be my assumption that the military course is the only action available to him today," said the Senate Majority Leader, Mr Tom Daschle. "We're hoping for more information and greater clarity in the days and weeks ahead." The Senate Republican leader, Mr Trent Lott, said Mr Bush "believes the case can be made, to our allies and the United Nations, that this is a serious threat that needs to be acted upon".
One of the plans being considered by the White House would allow a failed mission by weapons inspectors to become a causus belli for the US, according to reports in Washington.
It would require Iraq to allow inspectors to its weapons sites while thousands of US and allied troops massed near Iraqi borders, a senior US official said. If inspectors were turned away, they would launch an attack.
US Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld briefed senators privately yesterday on options being considered by the White House.
Congresswoman Ms Nancy Pelosi, senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said after meeting Mr Bush she had not seen any evidence for the case for putting young American people in harm's way.
"This issue is not inspectors. The issue is disarmament," Mr Bush said. "This is a man who said he would not arm up. He told the world he would not harbour weapons of mass destruction."