Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=2/28/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ/OPPOSITION (L-Only)

NUMBER=2-300176

BYLINE=DALE GAVLAK

DATELINE=LONDON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Iraqi opposition leaders, who have been meeting in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq to discuss the country's political future in the event Saddam Hussein is ousted, have named a six-member leadership council. Dale Gavlak reports that while participants hailed the results of the meeting, the diverse opposition is likely to face further hurdles in its efforts to steer a common course.

TEXT: Before the announcement of the proposed six-member leadership council, the meeting of the Iraqi opposition leaders seemed to hit a snag. Former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi, who did not attend the gathering, said in a statement that he had already rejected offers to join the proposed council.

His decision dealt a blow to the opposition's attempts to include Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority, which has dominated Iraq and its mosaic of ethnic groups since the country was set up in 1922.

Likewise, dissident Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi National Accord, a member of the majority Shiite community, denied he would play a role on a leadership council.

Still, speaking from the meeting in Salahuddin, in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, Kurdistan Democratic Party official Hoshyar Zibari told V-O-A, plans to form a leadership council are going ahead.

The council is to include Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal Talabani, Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim of the Tehran-based Shiite Supreme Assembly for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

Both Mr. Talabani and Mr. Barzani are Kurds. Mr. Chalabi is a Shiite with a secular perspective, while Mr. Al-Hakim is a conservative Shiite. His group has its own militia and backing from Iran.

The French News Agency says the meeting also formed 14 other committees to deal with specific issues. The committees are reported to roughly mirror Iraqi government ministries.

/// OPT /// Meanwhile, a senior member of one of the Kurdish groups hosting the meeting sharply criticized the United States for reportedly agreeing to allow Turkish troops into northern Iraq if there is a war. An aide to Mr. Barzani, Sami Abdul Rahman, is quoted as saying such a move would be a betrayal of the Kurds, who have controlled northern Iraq under U-S and allied protection for 12 years.

Turkey does not want an independent Kurdish state to result from any new war. Iraq's Kurds have sought independence, or a significant degree of autonomy, over the years. Now, they say officially that they want to be part of a unified Iraq, and the United States also says it does not want Iraq's territorial integrity threatened. /// END OPT ///

The Iraqi opposition has until recently been plagued by divisions, but some leaders are quick to point out that major obstacles have been overcome. The opposition formed a committee of 65 representatives during a long meeting in London in December. It is that body that met this week in Northern Iraq to select the smaller Leadership Council.

A U-S official told the meeting on Wednesday that if there is an invasion, the United States does not intend to govern a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq longer than it has to, but it has given no indication how long U-S forces would stay in the country. (Signed)

NEB/DG/AWP/TW/FC