The Bush administration made it clearer than ever Thursday, in sketching its vision for a democratically run Iraq, that it sees a decidedly secondary role for the United Nations in that country when the shooting is over (Getty Images)...

Pentagon Designs Three-phase Process for Governance of Postwar Iraq 

The Bush administration made it clearer than ever Thursday, in sketching its vision for a democratically run Iraq, that it sees a decidedly secondary role for the United Nations in that country when the shooting is over. A three-phase transition process will lead to eventual self-governance in the postwar period, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told lawmakers on Thursday.

Outlining the blueprint to the Senate Armed Services Committee,Wolfowitz said the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, led by retired US Lieutenant-General Jay Garner and under the US Central Command, will take charge in the first phase after the coalition forces have taken full control of Iraq.

The office will oversee humanitarian aid to Iraq and restore basic services in the war-shattered country, but it is not a "provisional government" for Iraq, Wolfowitz stressed, adding that "town-hall type assemblies" would be held around the country to lay the foundation for further transition.

An Iraqi Interim Authority will be established in the second phase. It will include representatives from all of Iraq's religious and ethnic groups and will have both legislative and executive powers, said the deputy secretary.

But he did not mention how long it would take to form the interim authority or how long US troops would stay in Iraq.

"The interim authority's most important responsibility will be to set in motion a process leading to the creation of a new Iraqi government, for example, by setting up local elections or drafting a new constitution," Wolfowitz said.

In the final phase, a new Iraqi government will be elected in accordance with the new constitution drafted by the interim authority and take full control of the country, he added.

Referring to the role of the United Nations in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq, Wolfowitz said, "It (the United Nations) can't be the managing partner. It can't be in charge."

After a two-day summit in Northern Ireland, US President GeorgeW. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday issued a joint statement, saying there will be a vital role for the United Nations in the reconstruction of Iraq.

However, when pressed on what precisely the UN role would be, Bush mentioned only humanitarian work, "suggesting" people to staff the interim authority and helping Iraq "progress."

Neither did Bush spell out how much power the United Nations would have, nor did he elaborate on Washington's plans to place US officials alongside Iraqis in the interim authority.

In response to the ambiguous US-British statement, France and Germany insisted that the United Nations should play a "central role" in overseeing the economic and political reconstruction of Iraq.

French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will meet with their Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin,at St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, on this weekend. The anti-war trio were expected to coordinate their positions on the postwar reconstruction of Iraq.

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