BAGHDAD, 31 July 2003 — Iraq’s governing council picked its first leader yesterday and denied it was divided, as Washington said the noose was tightening around fugitive dictator Saddam Hussein.
“Saddam Hussein is no longer bad news. He’s a piece of trash waiting to be collected,” said Secretary of State Colin Powell. “The noose is tightening but I can’t speculate on how close one might be to actually capturing Saddam Hussein.”
The 25-member governing council appointed this month as an initial step on the road to self-rule chose its first leader after more than two weeks of heated debate.
Ibrahim Jaafari, a medical doctor who is the spokesman of the Shiite Daawa party, will lead the council for a month.
The council decided on Tuesday the presidency would rotate among nine of its members. Iraq’s majority Shiites, oppressed under Saddam, are represented by 13 of the 25 council members.
Another of those who will take a turn at the presidency, Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim of the Shiite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, insisted the delay in picking a leader and the eventual compromise were not signs of division. “There are no disputes over this issue. It is a reasonable and logical decision,” he said.
A US military spokesman said two soldiers had been wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack near the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad, early yesterday.
US officials say more Iraqis are coming forward with tips in hopes of claiming the $25 million Washington has offered for information leading to the arrest or death of Saddam. They say the man who betrayed his two sons will get a $30 million reward.
