Bush Seeks Help!
| quote: | BABYLON, Iraq (Sept. 3) - President Bush shifted strategy on Iraq and sought to give the United Nations a larger role as a Polish-led force took command of a chunk of the country Wednesday from U.S. Marines.
Amid daily and often deadly attacks on U.S. troops and other targets in Iraq, Bush directed Secretary of State Colin Powell to open negotiations at the U.N. Security Council on a resolution designed to build a wider multinational force.
The United States said Wednesday it would insist an expanded multinational force for Iraq fell under U.S. command.
''The U.S. will remain the commander ...,'' Powell told reporters in Washington as U.S. officials talked of a draft U.N. resolution that envisaged elections to restore power to Iraqis.
Washington previously appeared to have ruled out any bid for a new Security Council resolution encouraging more countries to contribute troops or other aid to help stabilize
Iraq.
But four major vehicle bomb attacks in a month and the refusal of some countries to contribute troops without a U.N. mandate seem to have swayed Bush into changing course.
''We heard from the president that he is willing to follow the U.N. track, a larger responsibility for the U.N., and that is very good,'' Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Wednesday after a breakfast meeting with Bush in Washington.
''It is important that more countries are being involved in Iraq as far as military support is concerned. The second element is we have to work on democracy and the new structure of policymaking on Iraq,'' Balkenende said.
In a move planned weeks ago, the Polish-led multinational force took command of the so-called Central-South zone from the Marines, who had been in charge of the area for several months.
''I have absolute faith and confidence in the 21 nations that will assume their responsibilities today,'' Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, told a ceremony in an open air amphitheater in ancient Babylon.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said in a statement: ''This contribution will help ensure that we defeat the men of violence who seek to undermine the stability so much desired by the people of Iraq.''
IRAQI MINISTERS SWORN IN
In Baghdad, new Iraqi ministers were sworn in and were set to get down to work in what the U.S.-led administration says is another step toward handing the reins of power back to Iraqis.
The United States, whose forces have occupied Iraq since toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein April 9, has about 150,000 soldiers in the country and is supported by about 21,000 others, 11,000 of them British.
A wider U.N. role could also make it easier to gain reconstruction funds at a donors' conference in Madrid in October, as many contributors are uneasy about the U.S.-led occupation.
At a preliminary meeting in Brussels Wednesday that involved the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and others, the U.S.-led authority in Baghdad sought to allay concerns about security.
''The U.S. wanted to explain that, in their view, the situation was less worrying than people think and getting better every day,'' said a European diplomat, declining to be named.
Iraq has the second-largest oil reserves in the world behind Saudi Arabia, but sabotage and looting have put the brakes on the industry powering an economic recovery.
A car bombing in Iraq Tuesday targeted Baghdad's police headquarters, killing one policeman and wounding 15. Similar bombings against the Jordanian embassy, the U.N. headquarters and a top Shi'ite Muslim cleric have killed scores of people.
Before the four bombings, violence had been largely grenade and gun attacks that Washington blamed on die-hard Saddam supporters. Since then U.S. officials have made increasing mention of al Qaeda and other foreign fighters.
Sixty-seven U.S. and 11 British soldiers have been killed in attacks since Bush declared major combat over on May 1.
Iraq's U.S.-backed Governing Council appointed the 25-strong cabinet Monday. Ministers will formulate policy with the Council and the occupying authorities and will be responsible for day-to-day running of their departments.
Ultimate power remains with U.S. governor Paul Bremer until a general election. No date has been set.
Council member Ibrahim al-Jaafari described the appointment of ministers as a step toward meeting the needs of Iraqis neglected under Saddam.
''Exceptional effort is demanded from every minister ... to work for the rebuilding of Iraq,'' he said before the ministers took oaths of office, pledging to serve Iraq and its people.
REUTERS Reut13:30 09-03-03
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Ooook.. what are your thoughts about this? I find it Ironic. After Bush shoved UN on hiss ***.. and talking about if US goes alone US will take care of Iraq and such, besides taking positions on the Petroleum, now he WANTS THEIR HELP!! and even like that he is given a hard time to them..your thoughts?!?! I know there are some very insightful thoughts about this.. would be interesting to see the thoughts of those "for war" peeps.. (thats not directed to you Occrider, just in case .. oh well... I hope though that UN orders itself and do some major acting, hopefully pushing the the US aside for lets say some 50%, in means of taking care of things and such. BUt I still think that eitherway US will be taking "the blame".
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