Mr. Berger felt that the attack should be delayed to study the Iraqi offer.

But the five permanent members insist they will reject any Iraqi offer falling short of full compliance.

The Iraqi offer last Friday was made in the council's name.

But the Iraqi offer stirred complex political cross-currents in the region that might complicate the prosecution of the war.

He and others dismissed the notion that Soviet diplomacy had prompted the Iraqi offer.

The Bush administration and Britain voiced skepticism about the Iraqi offer.

It was the first Iraqi offer that omitted mention of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

He had just rejected the Iraqi offer complying with three of the resolutions.

Tariq Aziz can be expected to use his visit to make the new Iraqi offer more palatable.

President Bush used the harsh approach in his response to the Iraqi offer last week, denouncing it as a "cruel hoax."