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Straw's pledge during Iraq visit
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said an interim governing body could be set up in Iraq by mid-July. Straw made the comments before a lightning visit to Iraq. He becomes the highest-ranking British politician to visit the Iraqi capital since the fall of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in mid-April. While talking about the structure of Iraq, he also referred to the ongoing investigation in to the death of six British Military Police servicemen last month -- the worst single incident involving coalition troops since the end of the war. (Full Story) "People are making a terrible mistake if they think we are going to run away from this. "That is not the way the British forces operate. We have a responsibility in any event to secure this country." The bodies of the six servicemen, all from 156 Provost Company, were returned to the UK Wednesday. Straw said he hoped an interim government would be set up in Iraq ahead of the creation of a new constitution and elections. He told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "It looks as though one can be relatively optimistic about the interim authority required under (UN Security Council resolution) 1483 probably getting going by the middle of this month. "Everybody recognizes that the quicker we get Iraqis in place running the Iraqi governing institutions and with a calendar leading to the establishment of much more representative government, the better it is for everybody." The foreign secretary played down the implications of a fatwa issued by Iraq's senior Shia cleric denouncing any interim council which is not chosen by the Iraqi people themselves. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani -- spiritual leader of the world's 170 million Shias -- said a council handpicked by American administrator Paul Bremer would be "fundamentally unacceptable." But Straw said: "Sistani wants to ensure that the interim authority is not one parachuted in by the Americans and British, but has an element of consent from the Iraqi people, albeit that it can't be elected because its job is to draw up a constitution and make (preparations) for elections."
He said it was "simply not practical" for the coalition to hand over responsibility for security in Iraq to the United Nations. "It is the responsibility of the U.S. and UK occupying powers to do this and we are getting on with the job," he added. "The military commanders both of the U.S. and UK are determined -- with the full political support of their governments -- to do what it takes to deal with those remnants of the Baathist regime and the criminals alongside them who are causing a disruption to the security situation." His comments mirrored similar comments made earlier by U.S. President George W. Bush. (Full Story)
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