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U.S., Britain seek approval to run Iraq for one year

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON MAY 9 . In what could be setting the stage for yet another contentious round at the United Nations, the United States and Britain are seeking the world body's approval to run Iraq for about a year; and in return are willing to offer "some" concessions. The U.S. and Britain have set in motion the lobbying part for the lifting of sanctions against Iraq by acknowledging for the first time that they are indeed the "occupying powers."

In the past, the Bush administration shied away from using this terminology and had preferred to be referred to as the "liberating force." Now by agreeing to take on the label of an "occupying power," the U.S. has acknowledged that it has some obligations under the Geneva Conventions.

The draft that is being circulated speaks of the United Nations immediately lifting sanctions against Iraq and would phase out over a four-month period the oil-for-food programme. There is no mention in the draft resolution of any return of the weapons inspectors to certifying that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction — a prerequisite for the lifting of sanctions.

The oil-for-food programme that is renewed every month expires on June 3. What the Bush and the Blair administrations are seeking is for an authorisation that would recognise an open-ended authorisation that would run for at least 12 months. The catch is that Britain and the U.S. are veto-exercising powers and hence could reject a Security Council resolution calling on the U.S. and Britain to leave Iraq. Under the scheme of things proposed by Washington and London, and one that has already started raising eyebrows in New York and world capitals, the control of oil and oil development fields would continue to stay in the hands of the "occupying powers," and the revenues will finance the reconstruction efforts.

As a sop to the international community and to drive home the point that the entire goings-on in Iraq is as transparent as it could be, the U.S. and Britain are willing for some international supervision — for instance, the money collected from the sale of oil will be placed in an Iraqi Assistance Fund which will be under the control of the Iraqi Central Bank and could be audited by an International Advisory Board that would be appointed by the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Washington and London have also spoken of a "role" for the United Nations leading up to the creating of the Iraqi Interim Authority — while the world body will have a number of roles in the realm of reconstruction, there is virtually very little in the realm of political governance.

The U.N. Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has been asked to appoint a special coordinator but this representative will be working with "the (occupation) authority and the people of Iraq with respect to the establishment of local and national institutions of representative government..."

It is still too early to say how this American-British proposal is going to be received in New York; and if critics of the Bush administration such as Germany, France and Russia are keen and are ready to "take on" Washington for yet another round, the fallouts of which could be even more bruising than the earlier showdown in February-March. One impression is that major powers could be looking for ways to stay away from yet another contentious battle.

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