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| Saturday, 05 June 2004 |
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New Iraq government demands authority on all security issues BAGHDAD, Friday (Reuters) Iraq's new interim government demanded authority from the U.N. Security Council to decide on the future presence of U.S.-led forces and other security issues, signalling apparent differences with Washington. But Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday his government wanted U.S.-led forces to stay to help with security when he addressed the Security Council on a U.S.-British draft resolution on the planned U.S. handover on June 30. "The transitional Iraqi government...must have a say in the future presence of these forces and we urge this to be reflected in the new resolution," said Zebari, adding the new government should have "authority over security matters". The question of who has the final say over any action taken by U.S.-led forces after June 30 has become a burning issue for all parties involved in the Security Council debate. Washington and the Iraqis have already sparred over it. France and Russia, veto-wielding members of the 15-nation council, have forced the United States and Britain to come up with a second draft of the resolution and say they are still not happy. Washington made clear again the sovereignty it is offering on June 30 will be subject to 138,000 American soldiers having the last word on any military action they deem essential. "There could be a situation where we have to act and there may be a disagreement and we have to act to protect ourselves or to accomplish a mission," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview with Middle East Broadcasting. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.S. President George W. Bush's closest ally on Iraq, said he believed any differences could be overcome and that a resolution would be passed soon. U.S. and British officials would like a vote next week. In Iraq, a rebel cleric agreed to new steps on Friday for his militia to stop fighting, and the top Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a vote of confidence in the new interim government. The developments were fillips for Washington and the interim government, despite the wrangling at the Security Council. Shi'ite politicians said after hours of talks that rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had agreed to fresh measures to shore up a shaky truce and end weeks of fighting in Iraq's holy Shi'ite cities with U.S.-led forces. They said Sadr had agreed to withdraw his Mehdi Army fighters from the southern city of Najaf within two days as long as U.S. forces also withdrew, and had proposed neutral monitors. Sadr announced last week he would withdraw his militiamen from Najaf and the nearby town of Kufa, and in return the U.S. military said it would suspend offensive operations. |
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