US President Bush's national security team is finalizing plans to administer "a democratic Iraq" after the ouster of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, which call for US military troops staying in the country for at least a year and a half, according to the New York Times.
In its Monday edition, the paper reported that according to the plan, a civilian administrator - perhaps designated by the United Nations - would run Iraq’s economy, rebuild its schools and political institutions, and administer aid programs.
Military trials would be held for only the most high-ranking Iraqi leaders and the country's oil fields would quickly be taken over to pay for reconstruction. People in the Iraqi hierarchy who help bring down the government may be offered leniency, the report added. The plan says, "Government elements closely identified with Saddam's regime, such as the revolutionary courts or the special security organization, will be eliminated, but much of the rest of the government will be reformed and kept."
Many parts of the plans are highly classified, and some are still being debated, the Times added.
While publicly stating that Iraqi oil would remain what one top official described as "the patrimony of the Iraqi people," the US administration is debating how to protect oil fields during the conflict and how an occupied Iraq would be represented in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, if at all.
In the meantime, the White House has rejected for now the idea of creating a provisional government before any invasion. Bush’s key foreign policy advisers are expected to shape the final details in White House meetings and then formally present them to the US president, who has been informally briefed about the plan. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
