BRITAIN: Members of Iraq's opposition will meet in London next weekend aiming for a show of unity as they prepare for a "post-Saddam Iraq", organisers said yesterday.
Between 300 and 350 participants are expected to attend the two-day conference, beginning on Saturday, at a yet-to-be disclosed location in central London, said Iraqi National Congress (INC) member Mr Sharif ali bin al Hussein.
"We are the most optimistic we have ever been. We are preparing a post-Saddam Iraq," said Mr al Hussein. The conference's aim will be to draft a "road map for the future of Iraq", he said.
The INC is seeking to shrug off its image problem, with the group often criticised by its rivals for being little more than a well-heeled but largely powerless organisation that owes its existence to covert US aid.
At the twice rescheduled conference, participants say they will try to forge a consensus on a set of principles to turn Iraq into a democratic - and possibly federal - state as well as on an interim administration that would take over from US-led coalition forces.
"We will be presenting our democratic principles for post-Saddam Iraq, which involves a commitment to territorial integrity, democracy, unit and civil liberties," said Mr al Hussein, who is also leader of the Constitutional Monarchy Movement.
"Our information from inside Iraq is the Iraqi military forces will not resist the allies or protect Saddam," he said. "Units which will not resist or protect Saddam will not be attacked (by US forces)," he added.
Those attending will include the Tehran-based Supreme Assembly for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI), the main Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim opposition group, the Constitutional Monarchy Movement and the Iraqi National Accord Movement.
As well, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which share control of a Western-protected Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq, with the PUK, will also participate.
Meanwhile President Bush has directed the Pentagon to provide up to $92 million in military equipment and training to groups opposed to Saddam, the White House said yesterday. In a separate memorandum to the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, Mr Bush also designated six organisations as "democratic opposition" to Saddam, making them eligible for US military assistance.