- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
United States is developing a plan for a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq that
would involve U.S.-led coalition forces turning over power to Iraqi civilians
for a democratic transition as quickly as possible, a White House spokesman
said on Friday.
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- While insisting President Bush has not decided whether
military force will be needed, U.S. officials said planning was well under
way within the government and that Bush and top aides were being kept up
to date.
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- The talk of post-war planning emerged in the wake of
the large bipartisan vote by both houses of Congress to authorize Bush
to use force against Iraq if it failed to disarm in line with U.N. demands.
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- "It is the administration's intention, along with
those of our allies and the international community, that if military force
is used in Iraq, Saddam Hussein is removed, that Iraq not fall apart, for
humanitarian reasons and for the stability of the region," said White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
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- "And so the administration is working to find ways
to help achieve stability for Iraq and for the region. And we are considering
a variety of ways to do so with our international partners, with the possibility
of the United Nations, the possible role of U.S. civil affairs units,"
he said.
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- Establishment of war crime trials for certain Iraqi leaders
is likely, officials said.
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- They sought to play down any suggestion the United States
would engage in a lengthy military occupation of months or years, similar
to U.S. occupation of Japan after World War II -- a concept that would
likely trigger outrage in the region.
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- "That's not the idea here," said a White House
official.
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- "What's being talked about is dedication to the
fact that the Iraqi people, with the help of the international community,
will eventually have to set up a broad-based democratic government that
commits Iraq to renunciation of weapons of mass destruction, of terror,
of aggressive acts toward its neighbors, toward respect for international
law norms."
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- TRANSFER OF POWER
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- Officials pointed instead to the model of Afghanistan,
where U.S. forces quickly gave way to Afghan civilian rule after chasing
the Taliban from power a year ago.
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- But while Hamid Karzai quickly rose to the fore as the
Afghan leader, there is no obvious Iraqi figure to turn to as the next
leader of the country.
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- "The point is that we want to very quickly transfer
governmental power to the Iraqi people, both from inside Iraq and from
outside Iraq. And as we are doing so, we want to make certain that there
is stability in Iraq, that people can be fed, that electricity can be on,
that heat can be provided," Fleischer said.
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- Early on Friday the Senate followed the House of Representatives
in giving Bush the powers he sought to attack Iraq. The White House hopes
to show a united U.S. stance as the U.N. Security Council debates U.S.
demands for a tough new resolution requiring Iraq disarm or face war.
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- Many Democrats have expressed concerns in recent weeks
that the Bush administration did not seem to have a plan for a post-Saddam
Iraq while it ratcheted up the war rhetoric.
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- In recent speeches Bush has been addressing the topic,
saying the United States would not abandon Baghdad.
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- In addition to Democrats, the Bush administration would
like to reassure U.S. friends and allies anxious about a possible war.
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- "If military action is necessary, the United States
and our allies will help the Iraqi people rebuild their economy, and create
the institutions of liberty in a unified Iraq at peace with its neighbors,"
Bush said in his speech on Iraq on Monday night in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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