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Four Nations Seek Iraq Resolution Changes
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Four key nations proposed major changes Wednesday to the U.S.-British draft resolution on Iraq, moves that would give the new government control over the Iraqi army and police and require the multinational force to consult on military actions except for self-defense.

A three-page proposal by China - which diplomats said was supported in large part by Russia, France and Germany - would give the interim government that takes over on June 30 the right to decide whether foreign forces remain in the country and limit the multinational mandate to January 2005. Both changes would bolster the sovereign powers of the Iraqi interim government and extend far greater authority than the resolution introduced to the U.N. Security Council on Monday by Britain and the United States.

The proposal would require the multinational force to "consult with the interim government in respect of military actions except for self-defense." This issue is not mentioned in the U.S.-British draft. The proposal would also determine "that the interim government of Iraq shall exercise full sovereignty, in the political, economic, security, judicial and diplomatic areas, including the power to control and dispose all the natural and economic resources, sign economic cooperation agreements and contracts, and enjoy judicial independence and the power to administer prisons in Iraq."
That's the key graf: the French still want the oil fields.
The U.S.-British draft reaffirms authorization for the multinational force currently in Iraq to continue to maintain security and stability, under a unified command. It would review the force's mandate in 12 months or at the request of the transitional government which will be elected by early next year. U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte called the U.S.-British draft "a good resolution" that could be "fine-tuned" but doesn't need to be rewritten. But many other council members have called it a good starting point, and the Chinese proposal and comments by the French, German and Russian ambassadors clearly indicate they want substantive changes.
Posted by: Steve White 2004-05-27
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=34028