Engineering a new Iraq

Civil services The Baath Party, which once boasted 2 million members, dominated Iraq's civil administration down to the level of teachers in village schools. Now, even as US civil-affairs troops struggle with irregular supplies of food, water, and electricity, the US will have to decide what elements of the party it wants to replace. In the meantime, aid groups are organizing relief convoys from Kuwait and Jordan to help stabilize the country. But some experts warn that a long-term flood of aid into postwar Iraq may create a culture of dependency.

Law and order Secret police, civil police, and military security forces overlapped to create a pervasive police state under Hussein. But due to the aggressive role of elite security forces, local police officers are in many cases held less accountable for the Hussein regime's worst excesses - and are therefore being tapped for joint patrols with US forces in cities such as Baghdad and Basra.

"As a practical matter, you can't police the country effectively unless the Iraqis are brought quickly into the civil administration and enforcement mechanism," says Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va.

The question of sharia (Islamic law) in postwar Iraq is also critical. "The program of most [Iraqi] fundamentalists is to reinstitute the so-called 'pure' sharia law," says Professor Salacuse. "So the question is going to be: What role does sharia have in this new legal system?"

If there is popular demand for sharia in Iraq, the US, a strong proponent of women's rights, will be placed in an awkward position. "There's no question that traditional Islamic law, as traditionally interpreted, relegates women to a more inferior position legally than secular systems," says Salacuse.

Until a stable Iraqi government can be established, US armed forces will provide security and supervise civil affairs in Iraq.

Gen. Franks

Commander of the US war effort against Saddam Hussein's regime, Gen. Tommy Franks now bears overall responsibility for US military and civil administration in postwar Iraq.

Jay Garner

Assisted by subordinates in three administrative sectors of Iraq (see map), retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner will manage Iraq's civil affairs in consultation with Iraqis until power can be fully passed to a stable Iraqi interim authority. He is set to arrive in Baghdad Monday.

Gen. Abizaid

Lt. Gen. John Abizaid is the No. 2 officer at US Central Command, after General Franks.

This Arabic-speaking officer oversees the day-to-day operations of US forces in Iraq.

War Destroy or neutralize all hostile military elements of Saddam Hussein's regime. After the fall of Tikrit April 14, the Pentagon declared that the war's major fighting was over.

BUILD SECURITY Use US military to stabilize civil life, halt looting, and deter guerrilla warfare.

US INTERIM ADMINISTRATION In consultation with local Iraqi leaders and prominent exiles, establish the ORHA, a mechanism for US control of civilian functions. These include the regulation of agriculture, the restoration of basic services, and the return of Iraqi children to school. The US also plans to set up a security force, stabilize the flow of aid, and pass power and responsibility over to the Iraqi interim authority as conditions allow.

IRAQI INTERIM AUTHORITY Define a broad and representative group of Iraqis to begin temporary assumption of some aspects of civilian government. Condoleezza Rice recently said all members of this group must respect the territorial integrity and unity of Iraq, support a "broadly representative" Iraqi government, respect human rights, and oppose any presence of weapons of mass destruction.

REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT Once the country is secure and Iraqis are overseeing most civil functions, a democratic and fully sovereign Iraqi government can be set up. The shape of this government is still undetermined.

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