HIGHLIGHTS:U.S Officials Warn Time Is Nearing When Washington Will Act Alone on Iraq|*|American Draft UN Resolution Contains 'Hidden Triggers' for Automatic Use of Military Force against Iraq|*|French Foreign Minister de Villepin Indicates Consensus on UN Resolution Is Approaching|*|U.S. Top Commander Denies that Arrival of Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Region Is part of Military Buildup|*|
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STORY: As UN Security Council diplomats sought to reach a compromise on Iraq, a top US military commander visiting Bahrain said that no decision had been taken to attack Baghdad -- though US officials stateside warned that the time is nearing when Washington will act alone.

All 15 United Nations council members met for consultations behind closed doors and were expected to go through a 27-paragraph draft resolution presented by the United States last week.

The British-supported draft would set tough new conditions for starting UN weapons inspections in Iraq.

However France, Russia and China, the remaining permanent council members that have veto power, are not prepared to support the text because they say it contains "hidden triggers" for the automatic use of military force against Iraq.

The meeting was the fourth on Iraq involving the whole council, which met twice last week and on Monday to hear the chief UN arms inspector, Hans Blix.

Late Tuesday Blix, who heads the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), flew to Washington for talks with senior US government officials. He was accompanied by the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammed El-Baradei.

A consensus however may be approaching: in Paris, Foreign Affairs Minister Dominique de Villepin told parliament Tuesday that France wants the UN Security Council to send a "clear, strong message" to Iraq.

Back in Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the US diplomats believed they were narrowing differences on Iraq between members of the UN Security Council -- but making clear that Washington may act alone.

Powell's comments echoed those of White House spokesman Ari Fleischer who said Washington had no "hard deadline" for action on Iraq.

"But to state the obvious the United Nations realizes that it's approaching decision-making time," Fleischer said.

Earlier, a senior State Department official said the UN Security Council would probably not end debate and vote on a US-authored resolution on Iraq until after the November 5 US midterm elections.

PRESSURE FOR U.S.-LED MILITARY ACTION CONTINUES TO MOUNT

There is "no decision yet" to wage war on Iraq, General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters as he visited Bahrain.

But the only way to avert an armed conflict was for Iraq to comply with all agreements it signed up to after the 1991 Gulf War and ensure that it no longer has weapons of mass destruction, he said after a meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad in Manama.

Bahrain is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and some 5,000 US military personnel.

Myers earlier visited Saudi Arabia, another US ally in the region which hosts a similar number of US troops, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and top military officials on Monday.

Myers denied the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the region was part of a military buildup, saying the vessel would help enforce "no-fly" zones over southern and northern Iraq.

PHOTO CAPTION

Gen. Tommy Franks, head of U.S. Central Command, gestures during a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2002. Franks, the top U.S. military commander in the Persian Gulf said he would prefer to go to war with an international coalition backed by the U.N., should President Bush decide on military action against Saddam Hussein. (AP Photo/Joe Marq