Washington ? The Bush administration insisted Sunday that the U.S. military can simultaneously fight terrorism and confront Iraq, as White House officials said Congress and the United Nations must act quickly to show resolve against Saddam Hussein.

Members of Congress, however, were split on whether it was wise to act within four weeks on an undefined resolution about Iraq, as Secretary of State Colin Powell called for. There were signs of a possible stalemate before the midterm congressional elections in November.

“We don’t know what this administration wants to do,” Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said on ABC’s “This Week.” He said President Bush had yet to ask for a resolution on Iraq. But Bush’s national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said: “Obviously, it is up to the Congress to offer resolutions, not to the administration.”

Several leading lawmakers made clear they would consider such resolutions on their own timetable.

Daschle, D-S.D., was noncommittal on whether Congress could pass such a resolution before Election Day, saying only that it was possible.

On the diplomatic front, Powell said he hoped intensive work on drafting a resolution for the Security Council could begin by the end of this week. He was optimistic about a vote by the Security Council within a few weeks.

The measure should give the Iraqi president “a matter of weeks” to comply with long-standing U.N. resolutions on his weapons program, Powell said.

He met with council members last week to win support for a tough resolution and planned to return today to New York to resume the effort.

Powell and Rice declined to answer other specific questions about what should be in the resolution. But both said that new resolutions would not permit any negotiations with Saddam.

“The time for Iraq to respond was years ago,” Powell said.

Some lawmakers, including Daschle, have questioned whether war with Iraq would undermine the hunt for al-Qaida terrorists.

“We fully believe that the United States is capable of conducing the war on terrorism and dealing with other threats,” Rice said on ABC. “We don’t believe there are limits on what we can do in the war on terrorism and dealing with a major threat of weapons of mass destruction.”