The U.S. civil administrator of Iraq, Jay Garner, said on Monday a collective interim leadership should be set up in Iraq by the middle of May.
"By the middle of the month, you'll really see a beginning of a nucleus of an Iraqi government with an Iraqi face on it that is dealing with the coalition," said the retired U.S. general, in charge of postwar reconstruction in Iraq.
Garner also said he expects the newly appointed L. Paul Bremer, former head of the State Department's counterterrorism office, to take charge of the political process within the U.S. postwar administration. He said the appointment of someone such as Bremer had been planned all along and that he was intended to be here temporarily. "I'll stay a while. There's got to be a good handoff," he said.
He expected up to nine Iraqis to form an interim leadership group that would be a point of contact for the Americans. "What you may see is as many as seven, eight, nine leaders working together to provide leadership," Garner said. The group would consist of some returned exiles and some local Iraqis, representing Iraq's ethnic and religious spectrum.
On another issue, Garner said self-proclaimed Baghdad mayor Mohammed Mohsen Zubaidi was released 48 hours after his detention in late April.
"If he steps out of line again, he'll be detained for a lot longer," retired general Jay Garner told reporters in Baghdad before leaving for Basra. Garner accused Zubaidi of stealing cars and confiscating property while occupying his self-appointed role as Baghdad mayor.
Central Command accused Zubaidi of sending letters to individuals and organizations in Baghdad telling them not to go back to work at power, water, and sewage plants and banks unless he approved it. It said he had fired power company employees and appointed his allies in their place.
Asked if Zubaidi were someone to worry about, Garner said: "I will worry about Zubaidi if he ever reappears." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
