United Nations, Sept 26: US and Britain have completed drafting a new resolution on Iraq which gives about two months to President Saddam Hussein to comply with 16 resolutions adopted by the security council since the Gulf War even as Washington continues consultations with other members on the draft. However, it is still not clear when the resolution would be put on the table, thus beginning tough negotiations to hammer out a final version.
If finally Iraq is given two months, any military action would come only early next year, something which the military analysts are already predicting.
Reports suggest that Secretary of State Colin Powell is himself working on the capitals to finalize the draft which would be brought before the council. He is trying to determine how far tough wording that calls for action against Iraq if it fails to comply with the resolutions would be acceptable to other major powers.

American diplomats have been quoted as saying that they do not expect Russia to be a major problem, for they could persuade it to abstain if it does not agree with the wording provided they are able to manage nine votes needed for the resolution to be adopted by the 15-member council.
Analysts said china is also unlikely to use veto but France has yet to come on board. France favours a two-resolution approach, that is, the first only asks Iraq to comply with all the previous resolutions and if it does not, the second resolution authorises the action. Bureau Report