WASHINGTON, 2 October 2003 — The United States has drawn up a new version of the draft UN resolution covering arrangements for post-war Iraq, taking into account objections to a previous version, the State Department said yesterday.
Secretary of State Colin Powell briefed fellow members of the Security Council by phone on changes it has made, spokesman Richard Boucher told a briefing. He spoke to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, and is expected to call others later.
The new version defines more clearly the role of the UN representative in Iraq, responds to criticism that a first draft was too vague on the political process and makes clear that a multinational force would be tied to the aim of transferring authority to Iraqis, Boucher told a briefing. One of the aims, from the US point of view, would be to encourage other governments to contribute troops to the multinational force and money for reconstruction.
“The secretary has begun to talk to them today about the new text of a resolution. ... There is a written document in his (Powell’s) possession,” Boucher said.
In a draft resolution circulated in early September the United States proposed giving a clear UN mandate to the multinational force, now largely American and British, and inviting the US-appointed Iraqi governing council to come up with a timetable for restoring Iraqi control of the country.
The United States invaded Iraq without UN authority in March to overthrow President Saddam Hussein. But faced with mounting costs and casualties, it now wants others to help share the burden of the occupation. France led the opposition to the first draft, saying it did not give a big enough role to the United Nations or transfer authority fast enough to the Iraqis. Boucher said the United States had made “improvements” to the text. “We listened very carefully to what we’ve heard over the last few weeks. ... We have incorporated many of the ideas and suggestions that we’ve heard from others.”
Billions needed in Grants: Iraqi leaders have asked US lawmakers for billions of dollars in reconstruction grants and not loans, as Washington battled increased resistance in Congress over funding for the war-torn country.
In Baghdad, security guards opened fire yesterday to disperse a violent protest by jobseekers who threw rocks and set cars ablaze. In meetings with US lawmakers in Washington, Iraqi leaders on Tuesday sought billions of dollars in grants, saying loans would raise questions about US motives in Iraq.
“We hope it will be a grant, not a loan, because Iraq is already burdened with very heavy loans,” said Adnan Pachachi, a member of the US-backed Iraqi Governing Council.
Pachachi said that switching from grants to loans would “reopen the debate” about whether the United States invaded Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein or gain control of Iraqi oil, the second-largest known reserves in the world. Council Chairman Ahmad Chalabi said loans would been seen in a negative light in Iraq and around the Muslim world.
US President George W. Bush has asked Congress for $87 billion to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan and to continue his “war on terrorism.” But US lawmakers have suggested that some of the money could be given in the form of loans to be repaid with revenue from Iraq’s oil production.
In Baghdad, two Iraqis were wounded yesterday in a violent protest by job seekers who were dispersed by guards after they threw rocks and set cars ablaze, witnesses said. Several witnesses said they saw security guards at the hiring office of the Facilities Protection Service (FPS) open fire on the crowd, and one man was wounded in the hand and another in the leg.
Meanwhile, a US military policeman died and an 82nd Airborne Division trooper was missing when their vehicle overturned into a canal after the convoy it was traveling in came under mortar fire, the military said in a statement.
