By Patrick E. Tyler
New York Times
11 July 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 10 — Representatives of the major political, ethnic and religious groups of Iraq — some of them skilled politicians, some of them exile leaders coming home and others political neophytes united by their suffering under Saddam Hussein — will declare the first postwar interim government in Iraq this weekend, Western and Iraqi officials said tonight.
After eight weeks of negotiations with the American and British occupation powers, a "governing council" of between 21 and 25 members will be granted extensive executive powers. The new body of Kurds, Shiites, Sunnis, Christians and Turkmen will share responsibility for running the country under a United Nations resolution that will continue to vest Washington and London with ultimate authority until a sovereign government is elected and a new constitution ratified, the officials said.
There is no clear timetable for a transition to an elected government.
Iraqi political figures who have been involved in negotiations said that the process was speeded by the deteriorating security situation in Iraq and mounting American casualties from daily attacks on allied forces. That had created a sense of urgency within the Bush administration to create a credible Iraqi governing body that could help counter the negative image of foreign occupation that is being exploited by the remnants of Mr. Hussein's forces.
Traveling in Africa today, President Bush said: "There is no question that we have got a security issue in Iraq. We are just going to have to deal with it person by person. We are going to have to remain tough."
Two American soldiers were killed and one was wounded in two separate attacks Wednesday night in the latest round of violence against allied forces, military officials said. In Ramadi, west of Baghdad, a military spokesman said that American forces came under "multiple mortar attacks" in the city and at a base on the outskirts Wednesday night. No casualties were reported.
In an interview tonight, L. Paul Bremer III, the top American administrator in Iraq, said that in the course of negotiations over the new governing structure, he had made a number of "tactical adjustments" to meet the demands of the Iraqis. One of those adjustments, Iraqi political figures said, was to grant assurances that the majority of the council's members would be Shiites.
Mr. Bremer said the governing council would appoint and supervise a council of ministers that would run the government, send diplomats abroad to represent Iraq, establish a new currency, set fiscal and budget policy and, perhaps, take a prominent role in national security even as the country remains garrisoned by American and British troops.
"If they appoint a minister and he doesn't perform, they can fire him," Mr. Bremer said. "That's pretty executive."
Sergio Vieira de Mello, the special representative of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in Iraq, expressed satisfaction with the new government structure, saying that Mr. Bremer "obviously has been listening to the Iraqis."
The commander of allied ground forces in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said that "professional assassins" were stalking American troops in Baghdad. He added that military intelligence officials were "working very hard to identify" any regional or national networks linking opposition forces that were staging the attacks and acts of sabotage. Intelligence agencies thus far have failed to reveal actual communication networks but it was likely, the general said, that Mr. Hussein had activated a national plan of resistance in advance.
General Sanchez told a news conference today that it was "too early" to determine if a taped message from Mr. Hussein was having a rallying effect.
Still, he said, the "specter" of Mr. Hussein was putting additional pressure on Iraqis cooperating with allied forces. In Falluja today, newly trained Iraqi policemen staged a demonstration demanding that American soldiers vacate the police headquarters in the town, saying the American presence was a source of instability. On Saturday, seven Iraqi police graduates were killed in nearby Ramadi when an explosives hidden in a utility pole detonated during a graduation ceremony.
"I think the fact that the specter of Saddam continues to be present out there whether he is dead or alive is making a significant impact on the people of Iraq and their ability to cooperate with the coalition," the general said.
He also confirmed reports from Iraqi opposition figures that the United States military was developing a new plan to train and equip a paramilitary force of Iraqi fighters to "assume some of the responsibility for bringing security and stability" to the country. Iraqi political figures have been pressing United States commanders to recruit a militia that could assist American troops.
General Sanchez said such a force, if created, would be composed of "light infantry" that could operate under the command of allied forces.
Western officials and Iraqi political figures said that the council was planning to declare its formation at a news conference on Sunday, though last-minute negotiations might lead to a delay of a day or so.
Mr. Vieira de Mello said that he hoped that the governing council would be formed in the next few days so that he could make a recommendation to the Security Council to recognize the interim administration and give it international legitimacy.
In a private meeting today with Iraqi political figures, Mr. Bremer sought a commitment from all seven of the main Iraqi political groups to nominate their top leaders to serve. In turn, those leaders sought from Mr. Bremer a written commitment on the scope of the council's powers.
One political group, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, told Mr. Bremer that it would not make a final decision on whether to participate until Saturday. The group's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim, was expected to decide by then whether his brother, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, would join the government. Mr. Bremer would not comment.
Other Iraqi political figures said they believed that Ayatollah Hakim would sanction the Shiite group's participation after having received a pledge from Mr. Bremer that a majority of the governing council members would be Shiite Muslims and that the council's executive powers would be guaranteed in writing.
In addition to Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the core of the governing council would include Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, leaders of the two main Kurdish factions in northern Iraq; Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress; Iyad Alawi, head of the Iraqi National Accord; Nasir Kamel Chadirchy, a Baghdad lawyer whose father founded the first democratic party in Iraq in the 1950's; Ibrahim Jafari of the Shiite Daawa Party, and Adnan Pachachi, who was Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations in the 1960's.
An extraordinary level of secrecy has attended the negotiations over the roster of additional members. Last week, Lena Aboud, a 28-year-old gynecologist and women's rights advocate said she had been invited to join the government by Mr. Bremer. At least two other women were expected to be named, along with a Chaldean Christian, a Turkmen representative and one or more prominent tribal leaders.
"All along we felt that it was important to have an institution that could exercise real responsibility in the executive part of the government," Mr. Bremer said. The goal was to "get Iraqis to share responsibility with us, to face up to some of the hard decisions," he said, adding, "so we are more than happy to share responsibility."
----------------------------------------------------
Citation: Patrick E. Tyler, "Iraqis Set to Form an Interim Council With Wide Power," New York Times, 11 July 2003
Original URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/11/international/worldspecial/11IRAQ.html?ei=1&en=e3f80431431321f2&ex=1058889742&pagewanted=print&position=
--------------------------------------------------