Following is an excerpt on Iraq from the September 23 State Department briefing:

QUESTION: Can I switch subjects to Iraq?

MR. BOUCHER: Okay.

QUESTION: Can you bring us up to date on the diplomacy that has taken place over the last couple days, whether or not you believe Secretary Powell or others have made some headway with the Russians and the French in particular in convincing them to sign onto this tough UN resolution?

MR. BOUCHER: We continue to pursue the diplomacy on Iraq and getting a resolution that makes clear Iraq's violations, what they have to do to correct them, and that there will be consequences if they don't. We continue our consultations in the Security Council with our partners there on a draft resolution that would make these things absolutely clear. We think a resolution like this is necessary in order to make clear -- give the inspectors unfettered access as a critical ingredient for an effective inspections regime.

We've noted the comments by Iraq over the weekend, but I'd say it's not up to Iraq to decide whether the Security Council adopts a new resolution, nor is it for Iraq to decide what sort of inspection regime the Security Council should use. Recent Iraqi statements are just further proof that Iraq is already backtracking on its commitments to have inspections without conditions.

We do believe it's necessary for the Security Council to make clear the terms of inspections and to make clear the consequences that would follow should Iraq not permit those inspections, and that's what we continue to pursue. We're working with other governments up in New York as well as in some of these telephone conversations that the Secretary's had. We have, as you know, worked with the British on text. We've talked to many others about the concepts and the elements involved, and that process is continuing now. It's not time to assess who's on board and who's not.

QUESTION: Do you have an idea of when you're going to introduce the resolution?

MR. BOUCHER: I can't give you an exact timeframe, but the Secretary has made clear this is a process that we felt should take weeks, not months, and so we're coming to that point sometime.

Elise.

QUESTION: Richard, usually when there's a UN resolution, the Council seeks to have a unanimous vote so that Council unity shows that the whole Security Council is really behind any resolution, in this case behind a certain inspections regime that you're calling for. But Secretary Powell said last week that the US is hoping for nine out of 15 votes and isn't -- which would seem it doesn't really matter about Council unity calling for a tough inspections regime. Are you just looking for the resolution on the books or do you want an inspections regime that the whole Council is behind?

MR. BOUCHER: I think on any UN resolution, we want as many as possible. Iraq, in particular, has been defiant throughout the years, particularly when there was not unanimity or strength in the Security Council. So we think it's important to get as much as possible. We think it's important for the Security Council to take up this challenge, to take up this responsibility that both the President and the Secretary General referred to in their speeches last week. And we think it's important for the Security Council to make the rules, not for Iraq. So we'll continue to pursue those goals. Obviously, the more people that sign on, the better.

QUESTION: The Dutch Foreign Minister, after his meeting with the Secretary, said that -- quoted the Secretary as saying he was reasonably confident that he would get a Security Council resolution to his liking, including consequences. Is that -- would you concur with that's the way the Secretary sees it?

MR. BOUCHER: I'm not quite sure we really think this is the moment to start assessing things. We're reasonably confident that a number of countries understand the need for a resolution and therefore I'd say we're -- I wouldn't dispute that, but I don't want to start predicting an outcome quite yet. Obviously, until a resolution is worked out, till we have a text for others to support or not to support, it's hard to make predictions.