United Nations (UN): In an attempt to ease French and Russian objections to an automatic authorisation of use of force should Iraq not disarm, the US has circulated a "revised text" of a proposed resolution on Baghdad to Security Council members as the American President vowed to give one more chance to diplomacy to disarm Saddam Hussein peacefully.

"The revisions take into account the ideas that were raised by our partners during our consultations," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington, adding, "We made some changes in order to achieve our goals and garner support within the Council."

Though Washington has given up the demand for explicit authorisation of military action if Iraq obstructs weapons inspectors, diplomats said that France is closely examining the language in the face of reports that the US could interpret it to mean that it has the authority to do so.

Diplomats explain Washington's watering down of the resolution as its eagerness to get a resolution through the Council at the earliest because it has a small window for taking military action.

The action must begin between December and February, as it would be difficult to fight a war in summer and stand storms.

President George W Bush's remarks on October 21 indicated that Saddam may not disarm.

"We don't believe he's going to change. However, if he were to meet all the conditions of the UN that in itself would signal a regime change," Bush said after meeting with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary-General George Robertson in Washington.

The five permanent members - the US, Britain, France and China - met at the US mission just across the United Nations headquarters on October 21 where American UN Ambassador John Negroponte distributed the draft.

However, the remaining ten non-permanent members, who have no veto power, were not taken into confidence. They might be shown the draft only on October 23, diplomats said.

The new "watered down" draft would ask the inspectors to report any obstruction to the Council, which would meet immediately to consider the situation.

But the draft resolution finds Iraq in "material breach" of the Council's earlier resolutions, mentions that it had earlier been warned of serious consequences and threatens it with "serious consequences" if continues to defy the UN.

That, diplomats said, could give a peg to the US that it has the authority for military action even if the Council is unable to adopt the second resolution.

The US also dropped the demand that the five permanent members be allowed to send observers along with inspection teams and deployment of guards to protect inspectors.

PTI