This time around, the intense diplomatic efforts over a new resolution to change the military and political realities in Iraq are not aimed at getting the measure passed. They are aimed at making it matter.

This is a new dynamic for the diplomats here. Negotiations over three major previous resolutions in the past year have all been about securing their passage, a goal the Security Council failed to achieve with the aborted prewar resolution.

Washington's latest draft is not yet circulating widely at the United Nations, but American diplomats familiar with the contents say it takes a few steps to meet other Council members' desire for a clear timetable for the transfer of power from the allied provisional authority to Iraqis. It is unclear, however, if the steps would make a difference.

It is also unclear whether Washington, having already conceded the need for a timetable and for a multinational force authorized by the United Nations, would be willing to surrender control of Iraq's political transformation to the United Nations or to an Iraqi provisional government.

Without that step, or some alternative, diplomats here say that the United States may find that the eventual "yes" votes will come without much in the way of enthusiasm, troops or financial support.

Council members like Pakistan, Chile, Mexico, Germany and especially France have argued that it is crucial to put Iraqis on a path to quickly regain sovereignty of their own country. France and Germany argued that only a strong resolution would convince Iraqis that "the logic of occupation" was being supplanted by "the logic of sovereignty."

"The key issue is whether we give a political signal that will be perceived as such by the Iraqis," said Gunter Pleuger, the German ambassador here. He and other envoys are eager to see how Washington's new draft, which is unlikely to emerge before the end of next week, addresses these concerns. They are also looking to see if it meets Secretary General Kofi Annan's call for a clear mandate that makes it worthwhile to revive the United Nations mission, which was devastated by the bombing Aug. 19 in Baghdad.

All sides say they want the democratic transformation of Iraq to succeed. The open questions are who controls the process and how long it takes. But no one, France included, is threatening to block the measure once it is submitted. "The danger that I perceive," said the Chilean ambassador, Heraldo Mu?oz, "is that we will have 15 votes but we won't have any effect."

In proposing the new resolution this month, the Bush administration had hoped it would be the catalyst for contributions of troops to relieve the American troops in Iraq and for money to defray expenses. President Bush has called for Congress to provide $87 billion more toward military forces and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At a lunch meeting of the Council and Mr. Annan this week, Mr. Mu?oz said he told his American and British counterparts, "If you are a kid playing with marbles and you invite someone else to join, you have to give up some of the marbles."

Munir Akram, the Pakistani ambassador, whose government has been asked to contribute 8,000 troops to the multinational force, said he told his counterparts that any resolution "has got to have an impact in changing the political environment in Iraq — there should be an acceptance that this is a process that is owned by the Iraqis themselves and whatever forces are invited are seen to be helping them."

Washington has asked for troop contributions from Pakistan, India, Turkey and, most recently, South Korea. A South Korean diplomat here today confirmed an Associated Press report that Washington is asking Seoul to send several thousand combat troops to Iraq to supplement several hundred noncombatant medical and logistical forces already there. The diplomat added that Seoul's response was unlikely to come much before year's end.

Both the United States and its critics on the Council say they want to ensure Iraqi control of Iraq's destiny. Washington had made it clear that the allies should cede control to Iraqis, not third parties, and that rushing the transfer could be a prescription for failure.

The Iraqi Governing Council, established by the allied provisional authority with help from Sergio Vieira de Mello, the special envoy who was killed in the bombing Aug. 19, is to give the allies its proposal for a constitutional process shortly.

As the governing council assumes more responsibilities, like appointing ministers, American officials believe it will take on more of the attributes of a functioning, Iraqi-led government. In this view, the more the group does, the narrower the gap between Washington and its critics here will be.

But many diplomats here believe that a gradual process, built around an allied-created council, would not have the symbolic resonance needed. To speed the transfer of power, diplomats here said, Mr. Annan has raised the possibility of reviving the 1958 Iraqi Constitution, at least temporarily.

If these issues can be resolved, there may be more international willingness to send troops and money. Alternatively, if Washington believes there is little willingness to help, it may dismiss the notion of making any new concessions.

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