- Iraq's embryonic armed forces would come under the direct
command of a US general even after America and Britain formally hand over
sovereignty to a new Iraqi government this summer, a senior British official
said yesterday.
-
- Two battalions of the country's new armed forces have
so far been trained by the US-led coalition, and a new Iraqi ministry of
defence is to be created in the coming weeks.
-
- The allies are determined to demonstrate that the military
occupation of Iraq will end at the end of June, when an interim Iraqi government
will formally take power.
-
- But in reality, Washington will retain control of security
during the transition period.
-
- Iraqi military forces will be treated as another contingent
of the US-led multi-national force, which will be led by a US general.
-
- "You will not see much change in the security sector,"
said the British source. "There will be a unified command, and that
commander is bound to be American."
-
- The Transitional Administrative Law, Iraq's mini-constitution
which was approved this week, makes provision for Iraqi forces to come
under US command until a permanent government is elected by the end of
next year.
-
- However, the structure of the coalition's civilian administration
will be dismantled in the coming three months.
-
- The allied occupation government, the Coalition Provisional
Authority (CPA), will be abolished. US administrators will pull out from
their headquarters in one of Saddam's former palaces and the chief US administrator,
Paul Bremer, will return home.
-
- In place of the CPA, the US and Britain will open large
"embassies" in Baghdad.
-
- Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Tony Blair's special envoy in
Iraq, who has acted as Mr Bremer's deputy, will end his tour of duty at
the end of the month.
-
- * Gunmen posing as Iraqi policemen have killed two American
civilians and their translator at a fake checkpoint south of Baghdad.
-
- All three were working for the American-led coalition.
The five attackers drove off in their victims' car. When they were stopped
later by Polish coalition forces the bodies were discovered in the boot.
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004.
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- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/03/11/w
irq11.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/03/11/ixworld.html
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