'UN trusteeship', Walid M. Sadi

Opinion, September 2003, www.aljazeerah.info

'UN trusteeship'

Walid M. Sadi

Jordan Times, Sunday, September 28, 2003

WHEN US President George Bush told the current session of the UN General Assembly that the pace of transfer of authority and control to Iraqis must not be “hurried or delayed”, he must have meant a gradual and orderly transfer of sovereignty to Iraqi institutions and centres of power. When French President Jacques Chirac told the same audience, on the very same day, that transfer of sovereignty must be “gradual,” he must have had in mind the same thing. What Bush and Chirac had to say about Iraq is significant because the two leaders are generally viewed as holding divergent ideas on how to deal with the unfolding Iraqi conflict. But as can be detected from the words the two presidents used on the issue of sovereignty transfer, the differences between them are practically non-existent.

The French president did not refer to the military side of the equation; he appears to wish to leave matters on this point as they are for fear that any change on this front may mean the deployment of French soldiers as well, to police the country and establish law and order.

Even on the issue of the role of the UN in Iraq, the two leaders do not appear to be too far apart. Bush has indeed conceded that the UN should be invited to play a more central role in Iraq.

So what are the lingering differences between the two countries on Iraq, especially when Chirac seeks to have a gradual transfer of authority to current Iraqi institutions? This means, inter alia, that control must be gradually transferred to the US-handpicked interim Iraqi Governing Council as the only “current” Iraqi institution in existence. Had Chirac thought otherwise, he would have excluded the Governing Council from the list of recipients of gradual transfer of power.

Appearing to be ahead of both Chirac and Bush on this issue of transfer of authority and control is Ahmed Chalabi, who seems to have his own agenda and a bone of contention with the US in particular. When asked about the speed for the transfer of authority to Iraqis, he answered that its should be “right away” and not merely gradual, as the French president had suggested or as Bush has proposed. Chalabi also wanted joint Iraqi control over security and finances, especially oil revenues.

These demands by a key member of Iraq's only political institution could not have gone very well in Washington. So, as the gap between France and the US is gradually receding to manageable proportions, the gap between the US and the current Governing Council may be heading for a showdown. This time, it was Chalabi who voiced opposing views on how his country can be legitimately administered. Next time, however, other members of the Governing Council may add their voices to the opposition front as well.

In the final analysis, though, there are basic parameters for the resolution of the Iraqi conflict. In one way or another, Iraq may have to be placed temporarily under UN trusteeship. As there exists a UN Trustee Council, it must be given the mandate and authority to manage the situation in Iraq till the moment when the Iraqi people are able to exercise their right to self-determination in accordance with international norms.

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).