As-Saliyah: The United Nations (UN) will not take the leading role in the series of
meetings in coming weeks aimed at setting up an interim authority for Iraq, top US
officials said on April 14.
"We do think there will be a UN role in there, but they won't be the ruling
partner," said the officials on condition of anonymity, briefing media at US Central
Command.
The remarks came a day before the first meeting of Iraqi Opposition groups since the
fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in Baghdad.
The US officials said the gathering in the Southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah was "not
a meeting to decide the interim authority" but to talk about when and where such a
meeting
would take place.
They said they hoped to "set up an interim authority in weeks."
