Talks in the White House on Thursday between the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the US President, Mr George Bush, will be dominated by the Iraqi crisis.
Mr Ahern will travel to Washington tomorrow to mark St Patrick's Day. He will have a series of meetings with US political and business leaders.
Though events at the UN are changing by the hour, the Taoiseach may be able to avoid offering a definitive position on Ireland's attitude to unilateral US action if, as is now possible, a final UN Security Council vote is pushed into next week.
He will present the traditional bowl of shamrock to Mr Bush in the White House on Thursday morning, and is scheduled to have a private meeting with him for 30 minutes afterwards.
Mr Ahern and Mr Bush will later attend a lunch on Capitol Hill, hosted by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mr J. Dennis Hastert, along with senior US political figures.
The Iraqi crisis will also feature prominently during Mr Ahern's meetings with Senator Hilary Clinton and Senator Ted Kennedy, who have both raised questions about Mr Bush's handling of the issue.
On Thursday night, the Taoiseach will give a major address to the World Bank on the state of the Irish economy and EU/US economic ties. He will then hold a private dinner with the president of the World Bank, Mr James Wolfensohn.
Last night, the Government said Mr Ahern would emphasise Ireland's attractiveness to foreign investors and to holiday visitors.
Mr Ahern said: "This year we are especially conscious of the need to sell Ireland as both a tourism and business location, and the festivities organised for St Patrick's Day will allow the Government to capitalise on the goodwill generated by the celebrations. We will make new contacts which will benefit Ireland on a number of levels."
On Friday, Mr Ahern will meet with representatives from the Special Olympics USA team, who will travel to Ireland in June for the games.
