Many Hurdles Ahead for U.S.

That is not beyond the realm of possibility, U.S. experts say. Because of the selection process and the strong U.S. ties of many in Iraq's interim government, "there is more of an appearance of legitimacy" than the government actually has, said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It's not going to convince the Iraqi people as a whole, or certainly our more violent enemies."

Bush acknowledged the threat of attacks. "There's still violent people who want to stop progress. Their strategy hasn't changed. They want to kill innocent lives," he told reporters.

Major U.S. concessions in the latest U.N. draft, which were the subject of intense negotiations in New York among Security Council envoys last night, also reflect the scramble to win badly needed support for an ongoing foreign military presence -- with the clock rapidly ticking.

"I've been speaking with a variety of world leaders, to encourage them to -- by telling them we're willing to work with them to achieve language we can live with but, more importantly, language that the Iraqi government can live with," Bush told reporters.

But U.N. officials say the draft is unlikely to win passage before June 6, the anniversary of D-Day and the original goal. "We don't want to ram it through in a huge hurry. We need to get it right and make sure that the status of the [military] mission and forces agreement respects sovereignty . . . so that those who say this is a shell game are wrong," said a senior U.N. official who requested anonymity because of ongoing negotiations.

In contrast to four previous U.N. resolutions, talks yesterday went well, U.S. officials said. "In months past, we've had knock-down, drag-out debates on substance. In contrast, we were today truly in the weeds about small, arcane changes," said a senior U.S. official at the United Nations present for the discussions.

Besides France, the biggest unknown is Spain, which co-sponsored previous U.N. resolutions advocating military intervention. But the Spanish government that deployed troops in Iraq was replaced earlier this year, and U.S. officials say it is unclear how Spain may use its Security Council vote.

After the talks, U.S. Ambassador James B. Cunningham told reporters that the delegations would "go away and reflect." Iraqi interim Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zubari is expected to arrive in New York today to brief the Security Council.

In words that may not expedite the big diplomatic push, Bush said yesterday, "You know how the United Nations is. Sometimes, it can move slowly, and sometimes it can move quickly."

Bush will try to generate further momentum behind his Iraq policy today at the Air Force Academy commencement address, when he delivers the second of a weekly series of Iraq speeches until the transition. He will detail his view of how Iraq fits into the broader war on terrorism and why the stakes are high. He plans to argue that the war is a clash of ideologies between the civilized world and al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists, and will describe similarities and differences between this war and World War II, U.S. officials said.