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UN debates extending mandate of US-led
foreign forces in Iraq
4.11.2005
By Steve Negus
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The United Nations
Security Council began a debate yesterday on
extending the mandate of US-led foreign forces in
Iraq, set to expire at the end of this year.
Iraqi politicians, meanwhile, say there may need to
be new regulations on how US troops operate to
satisfy the demands of Sunni Arabs, who are expected
to wield new powers after elections set for December
15.
UN Security Council resolution 1546, which gives the
US-led multinational force broad licence to maintain
security in Iraq, expires after the December
elections and the subsequent formation of a
government ends Iraq's transitional "political
process".
The Security Council began yesterday to circulate a
US-sponsored draft resolution extending that mandate
to December 2006, after receiving a letter from
Iraq's Shia- and Kurdish-dominated government.
It also states that this agreement should be
reviewed eight months later, or could be reviewed or
terminated at the request of the Iraqi government.
There was no word on when the text might be put to a
vote.
"The [current UN] mandate includes all necessary
measures, the power to do whatever force you need to
do, including detention," a senior Pentagon official
said.
"The bottom line is to extend the mandate so that
whatever authority you have now will continue until
a new Iraqi government and the coalition can work
something out differently," he said.
The new government will include a large contingent
of Sunni Arabs, who largely stayed away from the
polls in the last elections but are expected to turn
out in droves in December.
Virtually all of Iraq's prominent Sunni Arab
politicians have criticised US military operations.
Some have called for immediate withdrawal of foreign
troops, and many others call for a withdrawal
timetable.
Most Shia and Kurdish leaders say the troops should
remain, as the country's military is still incapable
of fighting the insurgency on its own.
As a compromise, some Iraqi leaders have suggested
there may be a "status of forces" agreement between
the Iraqi government and the coalition that
wouldgovern the foreign troops' presence.
"I disagree with those who are asking for a
timetable, but I would agree with them that we need
to have a modality by which the presence of foreign
troops could be regulated or ended one way or the
other," said Iraqi deputy prime minister Barham
Salih, a Kurd.
"If there is an operation in [Sunni Arab towns like]
Haditha or al-Qaem or Ramadi, [Sunni leaders] can
also be part of the decision making," he said. Mr
Salih also said there needed to be aggressive
investigation of reported human rights abuses of
detainees held by the Iraqi security forces.
However, Mr Salih declined to offer details of
changes in how US forces might operate.
Sunni Arab leaders have many specific complaints
about US military behaviour - use of heavy weapons
and air strikes that kill bystanders, insurgent
suspects held incommunicado for lengthy periods
without trial, or roads closed and orchards bombed
as a form of collective punishment against
communities which harbour guerrillas.
However, some may be reluctant to call for
regulating and therefore legitimising a force that
many Sunni consider to be an unacceptable violation
of national sovereignty.
Many Iraqis believe that the presence of foreign
troops harms security, but others believe immediate
withdrawal would make things worse.
Iraqi politicians point out that the new elections
would at least bring a public debate on the rules
governing the US military presence - a debate that
so far has been held behind closed doors.
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