- Tony Blair's call for a new Iraqi government to have
a veto over coalition military operations after a hand-over of power at
the end of next month was rebuffed in Washington last night.
-
- Within hours of his asserting the right of the incoming
government to prevent American forces from mounting another Fallujah-style
assault, Colin Powell, the secretary of state, said that US forces would
be under US command, with the right to do "what is necessary"
to protect themselves.
-
- His insistence on operational freedom was the first public
sign of disagreement between America and Britain over the planned hand-over
of power to an interim government on June 30.
-
- The Prime Minister used his monthly press conference
to exert pressure on President George W Bush to concede a "real and
genuine" transfer of sovereignty by insisting that the government
in Baghdad would have full political control over military operations.
-
- "Let me make it 100 per cent clear," he said.
"After June 30 there will be the full transfer of sovereignty to the
Iraqi government.
-
- "If there is a political decision as to whether
you go into a place like Fallujah in a particular way, that has to be done
with the consent of the Iraqi government and the final political control
remains with the Iraqi government."
-
- Mr Blair, who is under growing pressure from Labour critics
of the war to distance himself from Mr Bush, appeared to be pre-empting
sensitive negotiations going on between Britain and America on the proposals
for transferring sovereignty.
-
- Mr Powell, responding to questions in Washington, promised
only that the views of Iraq's interim rulers would be "taken into
account" at a political and military level.
-
- Co-ordinating bodies would be set up to ensure that "there
is transparency with respect to what we are doing", Mr Powell said.
But that would not amount to a veto.
-
- He said: "If it comes down to the United States
armed forces protecting themselves or in some way accomplishing their mission
in a way that might not be in total consonance with what the Iraqi interim
government might want to do at a particular moment, US forces remain under
US command and will do what is necessary to protect themselves."
-
- Scott McClellan, the president's spokesman, said: "I
think the way that you should look at it is that we'll be working in partnership
and in co-operation with the Iraqi government."
-
- No 10 later reinforced the impression that Mr Blair had
jumped the gun. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said that he had
been referring to British troops.
-
- The precise arrangements are due to be spelt out in an
exchange of letters between the United Nations and the interim Iraqi prime
minister, who is expected to be named within the next week.
-
- Mr Blair stressed that, while the new government would
have "political control" over military operations, it would not
be able to give orders to British troops. They would remain under the control
of British commanders.
-
- The aim of the coalition after the hand-over would be
to help the Iraqis build up their forces to enable them to take on the
task of maintaining security.
-
- While Mr Blair was trying to demonstrate that Britain
and America planned a genuine transfer of sovereignty, Ali Allawi, the
Iraqi defence minister, raised the prospect of a far swifter exit for coalition
troops than had previously been expected.
-
- After talks with Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, Mr
Allawi said that the coalition troops must be replaced by Iraqi forces
within a year.
-
- "In terms of time for the presence of the international
forces to help us to establish security and stability, I think it will
be a question of months rather than years," he said.
-
- Mr Blair was more cautious, refusing to be drawn on a
timetable for the withdrawal of British troops. He insisted that they would
stay "until we get the job done" and would leave only when Iraqi
forces were capable of providing their own security.
-
- His comments were intended to drive home the message
that the June 30 transfer would mark a real change in Iraq, as American
and British diplomats try to secure agreement on a United Nations resolution
endorsing the hand-over.
-
- President Bush joined the drive to win international
support for the resolution, telephoning Jacques Chirac, the French president.
-
- Afterwards he said he had had a "great conversation"
with M Chirac. "We share the same goal: a free and stable and peaceful
Iraq," Mr Bush said. The White House said later that the two leaders
concluded that "adjustments" to the resolution were needed.
-
- In Paris, M Chirac's office quoted him as saying that
the draft resolution issued by the US and Britain this week was "a
good basis for discussion". But it required further work, particularly
in ensuring that the transfer of sovereignty must be "real and perceived
as such by the Iraqis themselves".
-
- Gerhard Schrder, the Germany chancellor, said that a
new Iraqi government "must be able to make decisions over security
issues, or it will not be truly sovereign".
-
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