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Monday, May 31, 2004 - Page updated at 12:59 A.M.
Bremer delays vote in dispute over Iraq president
By Monte Morin and Alissa J. Rubin
Los Angeles Times
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001943415_iraqcouncil31.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The top U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq yesterday ordered the Iraq Governing Council to delay nominating a president for a caretaker government that will take power in July.
L. Paul Bremer, who heads the Coalition Provisional Authority, intervened when the council was on the verge of holding a vote to ratify its choice, Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, a tribal leader critical of the U.S. occupation.
Bremer and U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi support former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi for the largely ceremonial post and apparently did not want the council to hand them a potential fait accompli. "Bremer came in and read them the riot act," a Governing Council aide said.
Ala Hashimi, a Dawa Party member who was present at yesterday's meeting, said: "Bremer interfered and postponed the vote until tomorrow."
Bremer and Brahimi are trying to exert control over an unwieldy process in which individuals and parties represented on the U.S.-appointed Governing Council are jostling for posts.
The process has sparked a constant shuffling of candidates as leaders of various groups attempt to secure the best deal for themselves and their constituents.
U.S. officials were taken aback Friday when council members nominated one of their own, Iyad Allawi, as prime minister. Allawi is a Shiite and a former Baath party member with close ties to the CIA. He also headed a group of exiled Iraqis that opposed Saddam Hussein.
Occupation authorities denied yesterday that they were pressuring the Governing Council. "We have not been leaning on anybody to support one president over another," said Dan Senor, a spokesman for the coalition authority. "Under international law, we have the ultimate authority for what happens in Iraq. We are the occupational power."
Despite the disagreements between Bremer and the Governing Council, a government could be named as early as today.
The Governing Council will be dissolved after members of the caretaker government are announced. Although the new government will not hold power until July 1, its members will be expected to help decide key issues such as the status of U.S. troops in Iraq and plans for renegotiating the nation's debt.
Some current members of the Governing Council are expected to be in the new government, and they merely will move their offices from a secure U.S. compound to ministries elsewhere in Baghdad.
Bremer and Brahimi ordered the council to delay choosing a president because they insisted on Pachachi, according to Governing Council members. Many other posts, including two vice presidents, also were undecided last night. It appeared likely one would go to a Shiite and one to a Kurd. But it was not clear which Shiite party would get the post.
Pachachi's staff has been emphasizing his background as a foreign minister and his ability to negotiate complex issues such as the rescheduling of debt. It is not clear, however, whether Pachachi would take the job if it were offered. A close aide said, "I think he would" but did not rule out that he might decline.
Council members said they would meet again today to decide the matter but said they were frustrated by Bremer's stance.
"The CPA and Mr. Bremer are pressuring us not to use our hearts," said Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurdish member. "If they insist on this, it will be very bad for the credibility of the U.S. They have no right to impose these things on Iraqis."
Officials with the coalition authority and the Governing Council said Pachachi and al-Yawer were equally capable of performing presidential duties, although the two men cut different images.
Pachachi, 81, is most often seen wearing a suit, while al-Yawer, in his 40s, regularly wears traditional Arab robes and headdress. Both men are fluent English speakers, have spent long periods in the United States and are comfortable working with Americans.
"Al-Yawer is immensely capable and, though Sunni, he heads a tribe that is largely Shiite," one council member told Knight Ridder Newspapers, referring to the importance of courting Iraq's majority religious sect. "Pachachi is old, and he belongs to the old guard. Iraqis don't trust him as much as they would al-Yawer."
A poll conducted last month by the Iraq Center for Research and Strategic Studies, an independent think tank in Baghdad, showed mixed support for both men. In a survey question that asked Iraqis their level of support for a number of prominent political figures, respondents gave Pachachi 41 percent approval ratings, compared with al-Yawer's 33 percent.
The poll was conducted in seven Iraqi provinces in late April and has a margin of error of less than 3 percentage points.
Details of last month's Iraq poll were provided by Knight Ridder Newspapers.
Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company
Bremer delays vote in dispute over Iraq president
By Monte Morin and Alissa J. Rubin
Los Angeles Times
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001943415_iraqcouncil31.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The top U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq yesterday ordered the Iraq Governing Council to delay nominating a president for a caretaker government that will take power in July.
L. Paul Bremer, who heads the Coalition Provisional Authority, intervened when the council was on the verge of holding a vote to ratify its choice, Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, a tribal leader critical of the U.S. occupation.
Bremer and U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi support former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi for the largely ceremonial post and apparently did not want the council to hand them a potential fait accompli. "Bremer came in and read them the riot act," a Governing Council aide said.
Ala Hashimi, a Dawa Party member who was present at yesterday's meeting, said: "Bremer interfered and postponed the vote until tomorrow."
Bremer and Brahimi are trying to exert control over an unwieldy process in which individuals and parties represented on the U.S.-appointed Governing Council are jostling for posts.
The process has sparked a constant shuffling of candidates as leaders of various groups attempt to secure the best deal for themselves and their constituents.
U.S. officials were taken aback Friday when council members nominated one of their own, Iyad Allawi, as prime minister. Allawi is a Shiite and a former Baath party member with close ties to the CIA. He also headed a group of exiled Iraqis that opposed Saddam Hussein.
Occupation authorities denied yesterday that they were pressuring the Governing Council. "We have not been leaning on anybody to support one president over another," said Dan Senor, a spokesman for the coalition authority. "Under international law, we have the ultimate authority for what happens in Iraq. We are the occupational power."
Despite the disagreements between Bremer and the Governing Council, a government could be named as early as today.
The Governing Council will be dissolved after members of the caretaker government are announced. Although the new government will not hold power until July 1, its members will be expected to help decide key issues such as the status of U.S. troops in Iraq and plans for renegotiating the nation's debt.
Some current members of the Governing Council are expected to be in the new government, and they merely will move their offices from a secure U.S. compound to ministries elsewhere in Baghdad.
Bremer and Brahimi ordered the council to delay choosing a president because they insisted on Pachachi, according to Governing Council members. Many other posts, including two vice presidents, also were undecided last night. It appeared likely one would go to a Shiite and one to a Kurd. But it was not clear which Shiite party would get the post.
Pachachi's staff has been emphasizing his background as a foreign minister and his ability to negotiate complex issues such as the rescheduling of debt. It is not clear, however, whether Pachachi would take the job if it were offered. A close aide said, "I think he would" but did not rule out that he might decline.
Council members said they would meet again today to decide the matter but said they were frustrated by Bremer's stance.
"The CPA and Mr. Bremer are pressuring us not to use our hearts," said Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurdish member. "If they insist on this, it will be very bad for the credibility of the U.S. They have no right to impose these things on Iraqis."
Officials with the coalition authority and the Governing Council said Pachachi and al-Yawer were equally capable of performing presidential duties, although the two men cut different images.
Pachachi, 81, is most often seen wearing a suit, while al-Yawer, in his 40s, regularly wears traditional Arab robes and headdress. Both men are fluent English speakers, have spent long periods in the United States and are comfortable working with Americans.
"Al-Yawer is immensely capable and, though Sunni, he heads a tribe that is largely Shiite," one council member told Knight Ridder Newspapers, referring to the importance of courting Iraq's majority religious sect. "Pachachi is old, and he belongs to the old guard. Iraqis don't trust him as much as they would al-Yawer."
A poll conducted last month by the Iraq Center for Research and Strategic Studies, an independent think tank in Baghdad, showed mixed support for both men. In a survey question that asked Iraqis their level of support for a number of prominent political figures, respondents gave Pachachi 41 percent approval ratings, compared with al-Yawer's 33 percent.
The poll was conducted in seven Iraqi provinces in late April and has a margin of error of less than 3 percentage points.
Details of last month's Iraq poll were provided by Knight Ridder Newspapers.
Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company