- Note - Lest anyone be surprised by this, obviously this
was in the plan from the beginning. There is no chance of rebuilding the
entire infrastructure of a country of 25 million. It's just like the 'fall'
of the Soviet Union when about 95% of the hated KGB stayed right on the
job...all that was done was to change the name of the organization and
throw some eyewash on things. Yes, the Baath organization will still run
Iraq. The amusing part of this story is that the British made the announcement
- ..not the Bush administration. -ed
-
-
- Baath Party members who were loyal to Saddam Hussein
will take part in the reconstruction of Iraq, according to Geoff Hoon.
-
- "They had a system of administration that will deliver,"
the defence secretary told The Observer.
-
- And many were "perfectly decent people who have
not participated in any atrocities".
-
- Mr Hoon later told the BBC it was important to use policing
to stamp out the looting which had happened in Iraqi cities.
-
- The defence secretary also said he was confident Saddam
Hussein or his remains would be found - as would weapons of mass destruction.
-
- There has already been anger in the southern city of
Basra after the man chosen by the British forces there to run the city
was revealed to be a Baath Party member.
-
- Mr Hoon told the newspaper: "It is understandable
people that have lived in dread and terror of this organisation should
go and kick in a few doors."
-
- But he added: "We have to ensure it does not get
out of hand."
-
- Mixed picture
-
- The defence secretary told BBC Radio 4's World This Weekend
on Sunday that he did not condone looting, which had produced "some
awful images".
-
- "We will try and stop looting wherever it occurs,
but it has been difficult in some of the cities in the immediate aftermath
of their liberation," said Mr Hoon.
-
- There was not a consistent picture over Iraq, he said,
so coalition troops were handing out food in southern cities and still
fighting in parts of the north.
-
- The first patrols between British forces and former Iraqi
police officers had now begun in Basra and were a "good sign for the
future", he said.
-
-
- Hoon: Weapons finds should be independently verified
-
- Mr Hoon said it was dangerous to speculate about what
had happened to Saddam Hussein.
-
- But he added: "I am still confident that either
he or his remains will be found."
-
- He was also "convinced" there were weapons
of mass destruction in Iraq and argued any finds should be verified by
an independent authority.
-
- The AFP news agency later reported senior US Marines
officers saying they had found 278 artillery shells carrying a substance
which tested positive as a chemical agent.
-
- Jack Straw is flying to Bahrain on Sunday as he embarks
on a tour of Gulf states to discuss the reconstruction of Iraq.
-
- The foreign secretary will visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait, where he will meet US interim administrator for Iraq, Jay Garner.
-
- Syrian warnings
-
- Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien will travel to Syria
and Iran, who fear they could become American targets in future.
-
- Mr Straw and Mr O'Brien will discuss a "range of
bilateral issues, as well as Iraq", according to the Foreign Office.
-
- On Thursday Mr Straw warned Syria "to end any and
all assistance to the Iraqi regime and to co-operate fully with the people
of Iraq and with the coalition forces".
-
- He urged Syrians to "make a decisive break with
the past and so contribute to a better future for the entire region".
-
- On Sunday Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Syria
not to offer any "safe haven" for Iraqi officials fleeing Baghdad.
-
- Syria insists it has offered no help to the Iraqi regime,
accusing the US of using the claims to divert attention from American failures.
-
- Restore normality
-
- On Saturday, Jacques Chirac has telephoned Tony Blair
to underline his argument that only the UN can effectively restore normality
to Iraq.
-
- Downing Street said the two leaders discussed Iraq and
other international issues for half an hour.
-
- The call came after President Chirac rang to brief Mr
Blair on his discussions with fellow anti-war leaders, German chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder and Russian president Vladimir Putin, in St Petersburg,
Russia.
-
- Mr Blair had reportedly refused an invitation to attend.
-
- The prime minister and US President George Bush agreed
in Belfast this week that the UN should have a "vital role" in
the reconstruction of Iraq.
-
- On Monday, Mr Blair will update MPs on the latest developments
in Iraq in a Commons statement.
-
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2943629.stm
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