Troops May Leave Iraq In 2006
Associated Press
June 2, 2004

UNITED NATIONS - The United States and Britain circulated a revised resolution on post occupation Iraq Tuesday that would give the new interim government control over the Iraqi army and police and end the mandate for the multinational force by January 2006 at the latest.

The occupying powers, who will relinquish sovereignty on June 30, had hoped the new draft would address concerns raised by Security Council members about the new government's powers and how much say Iraqis will have over U.S.-led forces.

Two major concerns about the initial draft - the absence of a termination date for the U.S.-led multinational force and the failure to state that the new Iraqi government will have authority over its security forces - were added in the new draft.

But France, Germany and Russia, which criticized the initial draft, raised questions about the revised resolution during closed-door Security Council discussions, council diplomats said.

Several other council members, including China, Chile and Algeria, said the new draft was an improvement but called for additional changes, especially in spelling out the military relationship.

"We still need to have language that would say that the Iraqi government's point of view will prevail over the MNF (multinational force) in case of major military operations," said Algeria's U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Baali, the only Arab member of the council.

But U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham insisted this didn't belong in the resolution. "That's really an issue that we need to work out with the Iraqis," he said.

Cunningham said the U.S.-British amendments "focus the resolution text more clearly on the objective that is before the council, which is to mark the end of the occupation and the restoration of full sovereignty to Iraq."

The amendments also clarify the U.N. role, the duration of the multinational force, and other issues, he said.

But China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said "full sovereignty has not been fully reflected." French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere also told the council that Paris would like to see the areas in which the interim government will exercise fully sovereignty enumerated in the resolution, a French diplomat said.

"We are not satisfied with the new version," the French diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We need clarification."

Many council members said they want to hear from U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who helped put together the interim government, and Iraq's new leadership. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari was heading to New York to press for full sovereignty, and he was expected to meet the council as early as Thursday.

Before making any final decision, Algeria's Baali said the Security Council also needs to agree on the text and "hear the Iraqi reaction about the formation of the government" to ensure there is broad support, as well as the reaction of neighboring govrnments.

Cunningham said he expects council members to reflect on the amendments. "We will continue to work on the resolution text and bring it to conclusion as soon as we can," he said.

The original draft resolution laid out a blueprint for a sovereign interim government in Iraq, endorsing the timetable for the country's transition to democratic government.

Under the timetable, elections will be held by Jan. 31, 2005 for a transitional national assembly, a constitution will be drafted and put to a vote during the year, and a new Iraqi government will be elected by Dec. 31, 2005.

The original draft said the mandate for the multinational force in Iraq would be reviewed after a year - or even earlier if the transitional government that takes power after January elections requests it.

That remains in the revised draft, but it also puts an expiration date on the mandate for the multinational force - the installation of a constitutionally elected government, which isn't expected until December 2005 or January 2006. It also declares the council's readiness to terminate the mandate at the request of the transitional government.

The new draft notes for the first time "that the presence of the multinational force in Iraq is at the request of the incoming interim government," but it doesn't specifically give the new leaders the right to ask the force to leave though U.S. and British leaders have said they will go if asked.

Instead, it anticipates that the incoming government will make a formal request "to retain the presence of the multinational force" and leaves room for the date of that letter to be included in the resolution.

The new interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, said Wednesday the multinational force will be asked to stay on and promised that Iraq's security forces will be a "pivotal partner" with U.S. and other coalition troops in the fight to restore security to Iraq.

The new draft states clearly for the first time that the Iraqi forces "will operate under the authority of the interim government of Iraq and its successors," and that the Iraqi police will be under control of the Ministry of Interior. Algeria's Baali strongly welcomed this addition.

The resolution also states that the Iraqi forces "will progressively play a greater role and ultimately assume responsibility for the maintenance of security and stability in Iraq."

The language on the U.N. role was also changed to address concerns of some council members that Secretary-General Kofi Annan didn't have enough flexibility to determine when U.N. staff return to Iraq. He pulled all U.N. international staff out of the country in October following two bombings at U.N. headquarters and a spate of attacks.

The draft now states that "as circumstances permit," the United Nations will play "a leading role" in assisting in the convening of a national conference to select a Consultative Council, in the electoral process, and in promoting a national dialogue and consensus on the drafting of a new constitution.