WASHINGTON, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The Bush administration is finding itself forced back into the arms of the United Nations although it had spurned the world body in its drive to launch a war on Iraq, The New York Times said on Saturday.

　　The administration has repeatedly talked about the willingness to seek a new UN mandate on Iraq recently because many other nations are refusing to contribute stabilization troops or reconstruction money to Iraq without UN approval.

　　With the costs of stabilizing Iraq hovering at nearly four billion U.S. dollars a month, and with American troops being killed on almost a daily basis, United States officials admit that they are rethinking their strategy and may seek a UN resolution for help that would placate other nations, like India, France and Germany.

　　U.S. officials contend that they are being practical, but within their ranks are policy makers sharply critical of the UN, and there are those who would consider it humiliating to seek its mantle after going to war without the blessing of the world body.

　　The Bush administration's quandary deepened on Friday when Russia announced that it would consider sending peacekeeping troops to Iraq but only with a UN mandate that would set out a specific mission and timetable.

　　President George W. Bush's meeting earlier this week with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was part of a flurry of consultations in recent days between US and UN officials.

　　Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser to Bush, reportedly reached out to diplomats on the UN Security Council, and Secretary of State Colin Powell emerged from a meeting with his German counterpart, Joschka Fischer, saying he was discussing ways to expand international support for the Iraq occupation, including seeking a new UN resolution.

　　"There are some nations who have expressed the desire for more of a mandate from the United Nations, and I am in conversations with some ministers about this, as well as with the secretary-general of the United Nations," Powell said.

　　The discussions reflect a growing sense that the reconstruction of Iraq will require a new international alliance, The New York Times said.

　　For all their rapid success in the military phase, the U.S.-led forces are struggling to establish stability and normalcy in Iraq, the paper said.

　　The newspaper also noted that a Pentagon advisory panel which had just returned from Iraq reported a pressing need for international assistance. End