US/IRAQ: Exiled Iraq opposition leaders met officials in Washington yesterday to try to end the squabbling in their ranks, and in the White House, about who should govern after Saddam Hussein.
The delegation was led by Mr Ahmed Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress, who was once an outspoken critic of President George Bush Sr, accusing him of failing to support uprisings after the 1991 Gulf War, in which the Iraqi leader killed thousands.
At the same time, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said the German armed forces were overstretched by their international commitments and would not take part in any military action against Iraq.
In Washington, the INC's adviser, Mr Francis Brooke, said: "We want the Bush administration to be clear on what Iraq's future is going to be after Saddam has gone.
"He has made a bunch of strong speeches, but people are right to ask: 'You say you want to get rid of him, well, what are you doing about it specifically'?" Underlining the importance of unity, Vice-President Dick Cheney agreed to join the talks by video link today.
"This is more about the divisions within the Bush administration than about divisions among the opposition," Mr Brooke said. The opposition, he insisted, was unanimous: "We want to do this."
US State Department spokesman Mr Philip Reeker told reporters earlier this week that the meeting was being held because "we want them to work together for common goals, which will benefit the people of Iraq and the region and the peace and security of the whole world".
The delegation planned to stress its view that toppling Saddam Hussein would be easier than many have argued.
"It is clear that the United States, if it takes military action, can easily overthrow the regime," Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein, a member of Iraq's deposed royal family who describes himself as "candidate heir to the throne of Iraq", said before the meeting.
"We do not believe . . . it will suffer great military difficulty," he said, not least because "the Iraqi military has been humiliated, insulted, oppressed, tortured, murdered.
"Their families have been abused by Saddam Hussein. Our message will also be that the Iraqi opposition is able to fill any vacuum left after Saddam Hussein, that we do speak with one voice, that we are united, and that there is no risk of a break-up of Iraq, that there is no risk of a civil war." The talks were also attended by Mr Ayad Allawi, leader of the Iraqi National Accord, Mr Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Mr Hosyar Zebari of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and a representative of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, Mr Abdelaziz Baqir al-Hakim. They were understood to be planning to ask Mr Bush to promise to protect civilians and the Kurdish north during a US attack
"The Iraqi people have been fighting Saddam for three decades. It's their war, and we believe the US has now seen for its own purposes the threat that is posed.The White House has downplayed Germany's reservations about a possible military intervention in Iraq.
Reacting to allied concerns "would be speculating about hypotheticals", said White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan, speaking from President Bush's ranch, where the US leader is vacationing. Mr McClellan was responding to questions from reporters about the statements made by Chancellor Schröder in which he ruled out German participation in a military action against Iraq.
"The President is keeping all his options open and has not taken any decision on any course of action," McClellan said.
"The President has said that he would consult closely with friends and allies as well as members of Congress."
On Wednesday, Chancellor Schröder told a German newspaper that an attack against Iraq could "destroy the international coalition against terrorism" formed after the September 11th attacks on the United States. -