Digest this. Talk amongst yourselves.
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is proposing elections in Iraq (news - web sites) in the first half of next year and the formation of a government before a constitution is written, as it seeks to speed up the shift of power the Iraqis.
Also, with President Bush (news - web sites)'s approval, L. Paul Bremer III, the chief American administrator for Iraq, will consult with the Iraqi Governing Council on the appointment of a special panel to oversee an accelerated transition to Iraqi rule, said a senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The revised approach is a change in course for the Bush administration, which originally insisted on a long period of transition that involved the completion of a constitution before elections were held.
For months, the administration has insisted that Iraqi leaders write a constitution, then hold elections before power shifts from U.S. occupiers to Iraqis. But on Thursday afternoon, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) said the Iraqi Governing Council has resisted that American timeline.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20031113/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_iraq_60