UNITED NATIONS, March 11: The United States on Tuesday called for a UN vote authorizing an invasion of Iraq by the end of this week and scrambled with its allies to write a text that could command a Security Council majority.

President George Bush, who has over 300,000 troops poised to invade Iraq to remove the government of President Saddam Hussein, is anxious to resolve the UN standoff quickly.

Mr Bush has pledged to go to war with or without UN backing, but the United States is clearly reluctant to abandon efforts to win a Security Council resolution that would give its military operations added legitimacy under international law.

Even if France and Russia carried through their threat to veto such a resolution, it could provide some much-needed political cover for loyal US allies, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. They both face public opinion that is overwhelmingly hostile to war without UN approval.

The United States and Britain so far have failed to muster more than four of the nine votes needed for passage of a resolution setting a March 17 deadline for Iraq to satisfy them that it is fully disarming or face attack.

However, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer declared: “The vote will take place this week ... There’s room for a little more diplomacy here but not much room and not much time.”

Bush called the president of Security Council member Angola, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, kicking off a hectic day of telephone diplomacy. Angola is one of six Security Council members still uncommitted, the others being Pakistan, Chile, Mexico, Guinea and Cameroon.

NO EXTENSION BEYOND MARCH: Mr Blair, facing the worst crisis of his leadership, indicated on Tuesday that he might be willing to extend the March 17 ultimatum a little, but British officials said they would not let the issue drag out beyond the end of this month.