US Pushes Iraq Resolution to Security Council

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 2 -- The Bush administration presented a U.N. resolution that preserves U.S. control in Iraq for now while strengthening the United Nations role there and allowing Iraqis to play a greater part in running their country.

U.S. officials say that this latest initiative underscores its willingness to accommodate calls to give Iraqis a larger say in their own future. But council diplomats said that it failed to satisfy appeals from the United Nations, France, Germany and others to hand over power to a sovereign Iraqi government in a matter of months.

Security Council diplomats acknowledged this evening that the resolution is certain to be adopted but that it is unlikely to generate new international commitments of troops and money to support the struggling U.S.-led occupation. The United States will formally present the proposal to the 15-nation council Thursday.

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Some senior council members reacted sharply to the U.S. resolution, saying it would fuel greater armed resistance to the allied forces. "The whole process puts the cart before the horse," said one senior council diplomat. "A constitution cannot be created under occupation."

"It's just more or less the same attitude: burden sharing without responsibility sharing," said a European diplomat who claimed the resolution still provides too limited a role for the United Nations.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31344-2003Oct1.html