The United States has said it is confident that its resolution, aimed at getting international support for its occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, will pass when it goes in front of the 15-member U.N. Security Council on Wednesday afternoon. However, it is unlikely passage will be unanimous, since the U.S. and Britain turned down a key amendment put forward by France, Germany and Russia to devise a specific timeline for a transfer of power to the Iraqis.

The impact of the resolution is likely to be lessened if key states such as France, Germany, Russia, China and Syria abstain when the vote is called. That is likely, especially given the fact that Paris, Berlin and Moscow, who had presented a package of a proposed amendments on Tuesday, indicated they would support the resolution only if their suggestions were accepted. Nonetheless, the three have said they will not vote against the measure.

Despite any possible abstentions, passage by the necessary minimum of nine votes is virtually assured.

U.S. seeking broad support

The U.S. draft resolution, co-sponsored by Britain, Spain and Cameroon, would authorize a multinational force under U.S. command and calls for “substantial pledges” from the 191 U.N. member states at an upcoming donor conference to be held in Spain.

The United States first brought up the idea of a new resolution six weeks ago. The matter has gained new urgency as President George W. Bush finds himself under increasing pressure at home due to the skyrocketing costs of occupation and reconstruction and climbing U.S. casualty numbers. The U.S. hopes the resolution will lessen the pain by spreading it around.

The draft measure also stipulates that the 25-member Iraqi Government Council must produce a timetable for drafting a constitution and holding elections by December 15.

Request for handover date denied

Paris, Berlin and Moscow had dropped previous demands that the U.N. play a central role in Iraq’s reconstruction and that a provisional Iraqi government take office within five months. However, they demanded that the U.S. devise a specific timeline for the end of the occupation.

The United States and Britain rejected the request, saying sovereignty cannot come before a constitution and elections.

“I think we have made every effort possible to take into account the views of various delegations,” U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte told reporters after the announcement of the vote late on Tuesday.

He said the United States had tried to accommodate “the concepts but not necessarily all the details” in the amendments proposed by France, Russia and Germany, and said setting a timetable for a power transfer was not possible right now given the state of affairs in Iraq.

“We think the rest has to await developments on the ground rather than trying to artificially set a deadline here in New York,” he told reporters. “It’s hard to predict things too far in advance.”