US seeks help in running Iraq

US SECRETARY of State Colin Powell sought support from Britain, France, Germany and Russia yesterday for a proposed UN resolution that would give the world body a larger role in Iraq’s economic and political future.

The post-war operation is costing the US about $4 billion a month and has strained the US military, which has 140,000 troops stationed in Iraq.

A US congressional agency said the US military presence may have to be reduced by more than 50% to keep enough forces to face other threats.

The Congressional Budget Office said under current policies, the Pentagon would be able to sustain an occupation force of 38,000 to 64,000 in Iraq long term. Besides one-time costs of up to $19bn, such a policy would leave peacekeeping costs in Iraq ranging from $23bn to $29bn a year. Democratic Senator Robert Byrd said it showed US President George W Bush’s policies in Iraq were “straining our forces to the breaking point”.

Washington has struggled to attract broader international participation, and sees the new UN resolution as the way to make other nations more comfortable with contributing militarily and financially. Some nations, including India, “felt like they needed additional authority from the UN to be able to participate,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. But he made it plain the US intends to retain political and military control in Iraq. “This is and continues to be something that is under the command of the United States military, working with our coalition,” he said.

In New York, US ambassador John Negroponte was beginning two days of talks on the outline of the proposed UN resolution, which marks a turning point in Mr Bush’s willingness to share responsibility over Iraq’s future. Mr Powell phoned British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Foreign Ministers Dominique de Villepin of France, Joschka Fischer of Germany and Igor Ivanov of Russia, as well as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a senior US official said.

They were interested in the proposition, but more talks will be necessary before the US submits a resolution to the Security Council, the official said.

After Mr Powell and Mr Negroponte complete their soundings, the administration will make a final decision on the text of a resolution, hoping to submit it to the Security Council before Mr Bush speaks in three weeks to the General Assembly.

The effort to secure international assistance is “a tacit admission that we don’t have the forces there to get the job done”, Republican Senator John McCain said. “If we don’t turn things around in the next few months we are facing a very serious long-term, problem.” Mr Powell said peacekeeping troops would be placed under a unified command with US commanders in charge of them. “Certainly the United States will continue to play a dominant role,” Mr Powell said. “But a dominant role does not mean the only role.”

He said the Washington move was not motivated by the steady loss of US troops in Iraq.