Garner to go to Baghdad amid debate over US role in Iraq

3.30pm

BAGHDAD - The retired US general charged with supervising Iraq's reconstruction will travel to Baghdad on Monday (Tuesday NZT) as the debate intensifies over what role Washington should play in post-war Iraq.

It was not clear whether retired US general Jay Garner would meet with Iraqi National Congress (INC) head Ahmad Chalabi, a pro-Washington politician widely thought to be Washington's candidate to lead Iraq.

Chalabi told ABC television's "This Week" programme on Sunday (Monday NZT) US forces should stay in Iraq until it holds elections.

"The military presence of the United States in Iraq is a necessity until at least the first democratic election is held, and I think this process should take two years," Chalabi said.

Also on Sunday, US-led forces in Iraq said they seized Saddam Hussein's science minister and a leading Iraqi opposition group said Saddam's sole surviving son-in-law had surrendered to them, bringing to seven the number of "most wanted" Iraqis in US and opposition hands.

Those detentions came against a backdrop of anxious debate over how long and in what capacity the United States would remain in Iraq and what role the United Nations would play.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana took a swipe at the United States in a newspaper interview on Sunday, saying it should use its clout to form consensus among its allies rather than impose its will by force. Solana also renewed calls for a major UN role in Iraq.

The United States, snubbed by the UN Security Council when it sought approval to invade Iraq, has acknowledged the UN has a role to play. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told the Al Khaleej and Gulf Today newspapers that the United States would "work together with the UN to figure out what the appropriate role is."

The United States has promised to pull out its troops and hand over control to an Iraqi government when it considers a U.S-led interim administration has completed its job.

Abdul-Khaleq Abdul-Ghafur, Saddam's minister of higher education and scientific research and number 43 on the US list of 55 most wanted Iraqis, was taken into custody on Saturday, a US military central command statement said.

The Iraqi National Congress said Jamal Mustafa Sultan al-Tikriti, number 40 on the 55 "most-wanted" list, returned from Syria to surrender to it and would be handed to US forces.

"He is the first close member of the family to be detained," said the group's spokesman, Zaab Sethna, noting that Jamal had served as Saddam's private secretary right up until the end. He said Jamal fled to Syria but the organization persuaded him to come back to Baghdad and give himself up.

Two of Saddam's half brothers have been detained but Sethna said they were estranged from Saddam -- who killed his other two sons-in-law -- making Jamal the biggest catch.

The revelation that Jamal had been hiding in Syria came hours after President Bush said there were "positive signs" that Syria was heeding US calls to deny sanctuary to fleeing members of Saddam's administration.

Increased US pressure on Syria since US-led forces toppled Saddam has fueled speculation that Damascus could be the next target in Bush's campaign against nations he accuses of aiding global terrorism.

Washington accuses Syria of harboring Saddam's associates, helping Iraq's war effort, developing weapons of mass destruction and aiding terrorism. Syria denies the charges.

As the first convoy of food aid reached Baghdad, Iraqi Christians observed an anxious Easter Sunday, praying for an end to postwar chaos and uncertainty.

"We just want an end to killing. We have had enough," said Suhail Elias Kusto, 50, weeping at the Lady of Our Salvation Catholic church in Baghdad. She said her nephew was killed soon after the US-led invasion began on March 20.

Pope John Paul said in his Easter message the Iraqis must take charge of rebuilding the country with international help.

"Peace in Iraq," the Pope said after celebrating an Easter Sunday mass in St. Peter's Square. "With the support of the international community, may the Iraqi people become the protagonists of the collective rebuilding of their country."

While Christians prayed, tens of thousands of Shi'ite Muslims, Iraq's majority population, beat their chests as they streamed toward the holy central city of Kerbala in a pilgrimage banned by Saddam for nearly a quarter of a century.

A World Food Program convoy of 50 trucks arrived in Baghdad, the first aid to reach the capital since the war.

US-led forces are still hunting for Saddam and his sons, Uday and Qusay, and have found no weapons of mass destruction, a key justification for the invasion. Chalabi told Fox News on Sunday he thought Saddam was alive and hiding outside Baghdad.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq war