IRAQ: Iraq's Governing Council has agreed to invite a UN team to Baghdad to advise on setting up an interim government by June 30th, despite misgivings among Shias.
But aides to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's leading Shia cleric and a key player in the country's political transition, denied he had contacted the United Nations to say he had no objections to its return, and suggested the ayatollah would refuse to meet the UN envoy, Mr Lakhdar Brahimi.
Washington wants the world body to help choose the mechanism for selecting an unelected Iraqi government that will take over sovereignty from the occupying powers at the end of June, believing UN involvement will help legitimise the process.
Mr Ahmah Chalabi, a leading member of the US-appointed Governing Council, told a news conference that the council had agreed to send an invitation letter to the UN. "The letter states that the Governing Council envisages an important role for the United Nations in Iraq," he said.
"The role of the UN is to provide counselling assistance in the run-up to the transfer of power, and technical assistance in the elections . . . We want the UN to provide legitimacy."
But if the ayatollah, revered by many among Iraq's 60 per cent Shia majority, objects to the UN's efforts in Iraq it will be extremely hard for the US-led administration to win widespread backing for its political plans.
The Iraqi government due to take power from the Americans is likely to consist of a prime minister, a three-person presidential body and an expanded form of the current Governing Council, senior coalition officials say.
The UN is expected to play a role in helping to shape the government, but broad ideas already have been laid out.
Political advisers in the US-led coalition would like to see it have the same sort of structure as the government that will assume control once full elections are held next year.
To that end, they expect the interim government to have a prime minister who heads a cabinet of ministers, a three-person presidential board and some form of an expanded, renamed Governing Council, which would have limited legislative powers. - (Reuters)