Britain, Canada try to break impasse over Iraq

As America kept its war plans on hold, with hundreds of thousands of troops waiting for orders to strike, diplomats grappled over the details of how Iraq might avoid bloodshed.

Tuesday was supposed to be showdown day, with a Security Council vote on an British-American resolution setting a March 17 deadline for disarmament. But the allies backed off. Without the nine votes they need, and with France and Russia pledging vetoes, they pulled their plan off the table.

The question of the day: What comes next, and when?

The Bush administration was dismissive of the proposal by Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, Mexico, and Pakistan to extend the deadline 45 days. "A nonstarter," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

But it was not clear that those nations and the veto-holding permanent members would be willing to accept something less.

The substance of the British proposal was not made public, and there were indications it was still on the drawing board.

Generally, Saddam would have 10 days to prove Iraq has taken a "strategic decision" to disarm, which could be done with a series of tests or "benchmarks," council diplomats said. A close aide to Chilean President Richardo Lagos called it a "checklist of about 12 items."

If that happens, a second phase would begin with more time to verify Iraq's full disarmament, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But a senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the time frame being circulated was shorter.

Chile's Lagos said Monday that he can't support the current U.S. resolution. A close aide said that Lagos thinks the March 17 deadline is much too short and and while he hasn't mentioned a new deadline, there has been talk of "two to three weeks."

France said Tuesday it was "open to dialogue" but will not budge on the fundamentals it has championed since the Iraq crisis started.

A day after threatening to veto any U.N. resolution authorizing force against Baghdad, Foreign Ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau said France cannot cross a "red line" by allowing any resolution that contains an ultimatum or the automatic use of force against Baghdad.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is under intense pressure at home to get U.N. backing for any fresh military action.

"The United Kingdom will only act within international law and we're looking for the United Nations to remain in control of this huge issue," said Greenstock, the British ambassador. "We're going to go on talking until we find a way forward for the Security Council together."

Canada, which isn't a Security Council member, revised an earlier compromise proposal that had drawn wide interest. Canada called for a new resolution to authorize force and would set a three-week deadline for Iraq to show it is cooperating fully with U.N. disarmament demands.

At the same time, Canada's U.N. Ambassador Paul Heinbecker said chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix should present a list of key remaining disarmament tasks within a week and stipulate steps and a timeline for Iraq to implement them. If Baghdad is found to be cooperating, new deadlines could be set until all U.N. disarmament goals are met.<