March 11, 2003	Tuesday	Muharram 7, 1424

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UNITED NATIONS, March 10: Despite claims, the United States and Britain have not been able to secure support from a majority of nine UN Security Council members for their resolution authorizing war against Iraq, diplomats here said on Monday.

Although the US wants to push for a vote in the Security Council beginning on Tuesday, diplomats here said it may be forced to extend the March 17 deadline by a week or two to muster support for such a resolution.

Echoing the sentiments of a majority of the Security Council members asking for more time, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, in a CNN interview said: “Some realistic benchmarks and a realistic time frame “ should be established for Iraq to comply before a vote on any resolution.

Mr Akram said that Pakistan is still undecided about its vote noting that the “endgame is still in play.”

Responding to the concerns of a majority of council members Britain indicated that it would be ready to modify a draft resolution authorizing war against Iraq in an attempt to gain a critical mass of support on the Security Council.

Prime Minister Tony Blair’s official spokesman told reporters that London and Washington would consider setting out a timetable of detailed disarmament moves for Saddam Hussein to fulfil by the March 17 deadline in order to avoid war and possibly extending the deadline for compliance.

“The idea of putting key tests to key periods where Saddam needs to comply is one being floated by some other council members,” he said.

“We are considering detailed indicators which would outline what Saddam has to do before next Monday’s deadline.”

Chile and Guinea, two crucial swing votes, also indicated over the weekend that they were not yet ready to say yes.

US Secretary of State, Colin Powell and the National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice tried over the weekend to garner support from the wavering council members.