Iraqi military officers once loyal to President Saddam Hussein met in London yesterday to discuss the formidable tasks of overthrowing him and ensuring an orderly transition to democratic, civilian rule.
The officers say they have organised the meeting themselves without sponsorship from the United States, which has had a declared policy of "regime change" in Iraq since 1997.
President George Bush vowed on Monday to use "all tools" to oust President Saddam, accused by Washington of trying to rebuild weapons of mass destruction, but has yet to give the go-ahead for military action against Iraq as part of the "war on terror".
Maj-Gen Saad Obeidi, in charge of psychological warfare before defecting in 1986, told Reuters some 70 officers would discuss papers on President Saddam's removal, the security outlook if he is toppled and putting the army under civilian control.
"We will debate how to change the regime," Maj-Gen Obeidi said. "Given Iraq's 40-year history of repression, it is highly likely that blood will fill the streets. We have to prevent this."
The defectors are drawn from across Iraq's religious and ethnic spectrum and some have links with opposition groups such as the Iraqi National Congress (INC) umbrella organisation, which is supporting the three-day meeting.
A notable absentee will be former Iraqi army chief of staff Gen Nizar al-Khazraji, scion of a big tribe in the northern province of Mosul who defected in 1995 and now lives in Denmark.
Iraqi opposition sources said Gen Khazraji regards himself as the natural choice for leadership in a post-Saddam Iraq.
Opposition sources said many opponents of Saddam have bitter grudges against the military defectors, some of whom they accuse of war crimes committed on the Iraqi leader's behalf.
Apparently acknowledging this, Maj-Gen Obeidi said it was time for the army, which has ruled Iraq since it overthrew the Hashemite monarchy in 1958, to get out of politics for good.
"We are working so there will be no soldiers in government," he said. "We ask the Iraq people to forgive the army and allow us to build a professional and national institution."
The officers, like other opposition groups, believe Iraqis are longing to see the back of President Saddam, but are wary of joining any new uprising without guarantees of US military support.
They recall how Bush's father urged Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims to rebel in the 1991 Gulf War, but then did nothing to prevent President Saddam using air power to crush the short-lived revolts.
Opposition sources said the defectors may be able to draw on clan loyalties in Iraq, but it is not clear if they command any respect among their former comrades in the armed forces.
One organiser of the London meeting is Maj-Gen Tawfiq al-Yassiri, a navy officer who joined the uprising in southern Iraq. He was wounded, but managed to flee to Saudi Arabia.
"The army will defect, even those closest to Saddam," said Col Hamed al-Ziadi, whose 1982 defection puts him among the first military officers to abandon the Iraqi leader. "The country is dismembered under the surface. Everything is weak." Col Ziadi said the US should train rebel forces in Kurdish-held northern Iraq both to combat President Saddam's troops and to prevent chaos in the event of his downfall.
"The people will rise once they know they have support. I only fear that Saddam will use chemical weapons on them." added Col Ziadi. - (Reuters)