US under pressure to fill Iraq leadership vacuum

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush has directed Iraq's civil administrator Paul Bremer to speed the transfer of postwar authority to the Iraqi people, drawing Washington's policy closer to that of its sceptical European allies.

At the end of two days of urgent consultations with Bush and his top national security advisers, Bremer said he would return to Baghdad for talks with members of the Iraqi Governing Council on how to best to accelerate the transfer of power.

The United States also displayed a new military approach to its troubled occupation, unleashing the firepower of the First Armoured Division against what it said was a Baghdad building used by anti-American guerrillas.

Bremer will return to Iraq with a number of ideas, including one in which power would be handed over to an interim government to write a constitution and to an executive to assume sovereign power, much like what was done in postwar Afghanistan.

A similar proposal earlier this year was advocated by France and Germany but at the time it was rejected by the United States.

Bush had embraced a slow path to democracy in Iraq of a year or two, despite the urgings of France and Germany to move faster. Now there is talk of some sort of elections in four to six months.

"We are looking at all sorts of ideas and we do want to accelerate the pace of reform. We want to accelerate our work with respect to putting a legal basis under the new Iraqi government," Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters.

With November shaping up to be the most violent month of a guerrilla campaign that emerged after the quick US takeover, Bush wants faster action. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the United States saw the need to be flexible.

"Just like you have to adapt and adjust on the security front to meet the enemy, you need to be willing to adjust and adapt to circumstances on the ground, in terms of reconstruction and in terms of the political front," he said.

However, the White House gave no details of any new way forward in Iraq.

Bremer said he would tell the Iraqi council Bush's thoughts and ask how they wanted to proceed. A December 15 UN Security Council deadline is looming that requires the council to offer a plan for writing an Iraqi constitution and holding elections.

"There's a lot going on and we need to pull this all together and integrate it into a plan going forward. And that's what I'll be talking to the governing council about," Bremer told reporters after meeting Bush and participating in a National Security Council meeting. He gave no details.

There is growing frustration among US officials with the governing council and there is also increasing friction between some administration officials and Bremer himself.

Bremer's abrupt return to Washington had triggered speculation his job was on the line or the council might be disbanded, which he dashed by saying he would continue talks with the council.

But senior US officials said Bremer's job was never in doubt. Bush met privately with Bremer and told him he was doing a great job under difficult circumstances, aides said.

With the recent surge in attacks on US soldiers, local people cooperating with them and international groups, Washington is seeking ways to reduce the US presence and defuse hostility by shifting control faster to Iraqis.

Bremer defended the council, which is said to be fraught with rivalries. He referred to it as the IGC and said he was confident he could work with its members.

"I don't think it's fair to say the IGC is failing. They face a very difficult situation at this time, but the Iraqis are, I think, more and more effective in their assumption of authorities," he said.

Guerrillas have killed at least 155 American troops since Bush declared major combat operations over on May 1. This month, insurgents have downed two US helicopters in Iraq both with significant losses.

Late Wednesday, a car bomb ripped through an Italian military police base in the town of Nassiriya, killing at least 18 Italians and nine Iraqis.

The White House also played down a CIA report that said popular support for the Iraqi insurgents was growing.

A senior official acknowledged there were strong differences within the Bush administration on how quickly sovereignty could be returned to Iraqis.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some favoured speeding up the process, while others recognised that Bremer faced a very difficult task that could take time.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq