U.S. CLAIMS SUPPORT FOR ULTIMATUM.(Main)

Byline: Paul Lewis New York Times

Bush administration officials and foreign diplomats said Sunday that the United States has mustered enough support in the U.N. Security Council to gain approval of a resolution that would authorize the use of military force against Iraq if it did not withdraw from Kuwait by the end of January.

The final wording of the resolution has not been decided, but the officials said it would be debated and approved on Thursday. Officials indicated that the resolution was unlikely to authorize "military force" in those words, but would choose some other formulation such as "all necessary means."

A senior U.S. official said Sunday that the Bush administration would interpret such language as authorizing the use of force, just …