Powell said he was in contact with Annan "to examine whether or not another U.N. resolution might be useful"

WASHINGTON, July 19 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – After sidelining the United Nations and waging war without its mandate, the Bush administration found itself back into the arms of the world body with countries declining to contribute troops to Iraqi without a U.N. authorization.

With war costs standing at some 3.9 billion dollars per month, double the pre-war White House projection, and U.S. soldiers being killed at a steady rate, U.S. Secretary of State said Saturday, July 19, that Washington was keeping an "open mind" about the new U.N. resolution demanded by many critics of the U.S.-led occupation as a condition for taking part in an international stabilization force.

"Some nations, however, have asked for a broader mandate from the United Nations in order for them to contribute peacekeeping forces, and I am in conversation with those nations and I am in conversation with (U.N.) Secretary General Kofi Annan to examine whether or not another U.N. resolution might be useful.

"We haven't made a decision yet ... but we have an open mind on the issue and that's why we are consulting with our friends and with the secretary general," Powell told the Middle East service of Radio Monte Carlo.

Faced by a deteriorating situation in the occupied country, Washington has hinted it may look to outside help, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Washington had previously insisted that sufficient authority existed under Resolution 1483 adopted by the Security Council in May 2003.

But several countries -- including France, Germany, India, Pakistan and Russia -- have said they will not contribute troops without a specific U.N. mandate.

The State Department said preliminary talks were under way on a possible new U.N. resolution to provide further encouragement to foreign governments to commit troops to an international stabilization force.

"We're open to the prospect and we are talking about it with other people," spokesman Richard Boucher said.

In a related development, the Pentagon is largely in agreement with an independent study that has sounded the alarm over security in turmoil-stricken Iraq.

The study, published late Thursday, warned Washington was running out of time and had three months to restore law and order in Iraq or risk descent into chaos.

It recommends immediate attention by the United States and the United Nations to swiftly boost security in Iraq and give guarantees on reconstruction.

Frederick Barton, the lead author of the report, said the study notes "there are huge challenges remaining," in Iraq.

The study, prepared by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was commissioned at the request of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. interim civilian administrator Paul Bremer.

"We do think the next 12 months will be decisive," said Barton, who is co-director, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project at the CSIS.

"We are very worried about the coming three months."

Number three at the Pentagon, Douglas Feith, applauding the report Friday, said it was a "professional and incisive assessment of conditions in Iraq" that was welcome, although not everyone in the U.S. administration agreed with all of its conclusions.

Feith announced that the so-called Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq would shortly have a representative office in Washington in order to boost contacts with would-be investors in Iraq.

"We are, in fact, in the process of significantly strengthening what we call the reach-back office," he said.

In compiling the review, the study team traveled throughout Iraq, visiting 11 major cities and two ports, meeting with more than 250 people.

The study, with participation also from the Council on Foreign Relations and the United Nations Foundation, finds "Iraqi expectations and frustrations are on the rise, and warns the window for cooperation with the United States is closing rapidly."

It notes that far more money than the Iraqi petroleum industry can cater to must be found to meet reconstruction needs.

"If Iraqis do not see progress on delivering security, basic services, political involvement and economic activity, the security situation will likely worsen and US efforts and credibility will falter," the report also warns.

Barton said the U.S.-led occupying power in Iraq "must be broadly expanded to include countries and institutions that were not part of the war coalition because of financial and human resource needs cannot be met by the US coalition alone."