French President Jacques Chirac said he was worried President Bush might order a unilateral attack on Iraq. And a senior Democratic senator, Patrick Leahy of Vermont called for a full debate even though Bush has yet to decide how to seek regime change in Baghdad.

Administration officials showed no sign of being flustered. "Is this a definitive moment of consultation and decision?" State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "No. But there are plenty of questions and answers around."

"Does that surprise us?" the spokesman went on. "No."

Vice President Dick Cheney, who has struck the most hawkish stance publicly, offered reassurances in a speech Thursday to Korean War veterans in San Antonio, Tex.

Cheney said Bush welcomes debate at home on attacking Iraq. "I know that he will proceed cautiously and deliberately and consider all possible options to deal with the threat that Iraq ruled by Saddam Hussein represents," the vice president said.

Chirac, in a speech in Paris to French ambassadors, said unilateral action against Iraq would be contrary to "the cooperation of states, the respect of law and the authority of the (U.N.) Security Council."

If Iraq continued to refuse to permit unfettered inspection of its suspect weapons sites it would be up to the Council to decide on a response, Chirac said.

Even with Congress in recess the prospect of a U.S. attack raised questions and doubts. Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said "the administration should not expect to commit American troops to war with a wink and a nod to Congress."

"There should be a full debate and a vote," he said. "That is what the Constitution prescribes, and that is what the American people expect."

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said nothing short of formal approval of an attack on Iraq would be acceptable.

"The Constitution says that Congress has the sole power to declare war," Feingold said. Not doing so, he said, "is an affront to Congress and to the American people."

The Bush administration takes the position it needs nothing beyond the consent Congress gave for the 1990-1991 war on Iraq to liberate Kuwait. But Bush's advisers have concluded that it would be prudent to seek some sort of expression of support from lawmakers if the president decides on military action.

China on Wednesday joined Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Turkey in urging restraint. In Japan, seeking international support, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said he could not provide a "laundry list" of countries that back the United States.

In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned Foreign Ministers Dominique de Villepin of France, Jack Straw of Britain, Anna Palacio of Spain and Joschka Fischer on Germany.

Powell's message was that "Iraq's defiance of the Security Council and development of weapons of mass destruction constitutes a danger that we have to deal with," spokesman Boucher said.

Intense debate also is under way within the administration on whether to seek a U.N. Security Council vote declaring that Saddam must readmit weapons inspectors, although Boucher said he knew of no decision to push for a new resolution.

White House officials are wrestling with early drafts of Bush's mid-September address to the annual special session of the U.N. General Assembly. Some are arguing the president to make a forceful case for strong action against Saddam, fearing that he is losing the public-relations battle and is allowing Vice President Dick Cheney to be the administration's most visible spokesman on Iraq.

Others caution that Bush must temper his rhetoric until he is prepared for military action.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan on Wednesday said the administration looked forward to any congressional hearings.

That would be "part of a healthy discussion about how we move forward on Iraq," McClellan said.

(China Daily August 30, 2002)