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Iraqi Opposition Names Leadership, Defies U.S. Plans
Defying the American plans to install a U.S.-led government after ousting Saddam Hussein, Iraqi opposition groups named a unified leadership Friday, after three days of intense talks in the Kurdish-held northern Iraq. Upbeat opposition officials, eager to present themselves as a credible force to be reckoned with, said hours of delicate closed-door debate yielded a six-member council they want to see at the heart of a future government in Iraq. "The conference has been a good success. We have resolved all the problems in the opposition," said Sami Abdul Rahman, a senior member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) which hosted the three-day talks.If they'd managed to do that back in October, things would be a little simpler now. We could have recognized them as the legit government of Iraq and given them "fraternal assistance" in getting rid of Sammy... The council consists of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani, the Iraqi National Congress (INC) leader Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Tehran-based Shiite Supreme Assembly for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI) Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi National Accord, as well as Iraqi dissident and former foreign minister Adnan Pachachi. See? Wasn't that simple? Barzani and Talabani are Kurds who have been sharing control of the north of the country since they wrested autonomy from Saddam in 1991 and have strong political and military credentials. Al-Hakim is a conservative Shiite, and his group has its own militia with backing from Iran. Chalabi and Allawi, also Shiites, are secular dissidents and have been close to the CIA. Abdul Rahman said the opposition had also formed 14 committees, which roughly match the functions of various ministries, a challenge to Washington which has urged the groups here not to form a government-in-exile. So put together a government. The way things stand now, it'll make things simpler, not more difficult. Can this be Plan B, being implemented? Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-03-01 |
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