US-named Iraqi council pushes back

Raja Habib Khuzai, a Shiite member of the council says, "The Americans want Pachachi, but they won't tell us why. If they continue to insist on Pachachi it will create very big problems because all the Iraqis want Sheikh al-Yawar, not just the Governing Council."

Despite his biting criticism of past coalition actions, Sheikh al-Yawar is a vocal opponent of the mainly Sunni-driven insurgency. His influence with Iraq's tribes could help reduce the level of violence, reassuring nervous Sunnis that they will not be marginalized in the new Iraq.

But CPA officials privately concede that Pachachi has the backing of the Americans because he is seen as the one person who will stand by the Transitional Administrative Law during ing the interim period. The law, of which Pachachi was a key architect, was drawn up earlier this year to serve as a temporary constitution until a permanent one is established no later than December 2005. "Everyone else will just ignore it like any piece of paper," says one CPA official.

The law sparked opposition among Shiites, who represent 65 percent of the population. They resented a clause that potentially allowed Kurds and Sunnis to veto a future constitution.

Despite the apparent stalemate between the coalition and the Governing Council, a senior CPA official insists that the council has not usurped the process of forming the new government and that Brahimi is still very much in control.

"The Governing Council may favor one candidate over another, but it's not a decision for the council to make. It's a decision for the Iraqis to make," the official says. "The council has an important say, but there are many other constituents out there and Brahimi is trying to get a consensus."

Even the announcement of Alawi's appointment as prime ministe designate was not against the wishes of the UN envoy, the official adds. Mr Brahimi had offered his name along with three or four others to the council for their consideration as prime minister. The council clearly favored Alawi over the other candidates.

"If there was any form of surprise it was that the decision was made public straight away," the official says.

Alawi, who has spent months lobbying for backing in Washington, appears to be the favored choice of the US as well as the Governing Council.

Still, his swift dismissal of cabinet ministers, including Sumaidie, is drawing some criticism, coming amid the collapse of a cease-fire south of Baghdad between US troops and militants loyal to maverick Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and continued violence elsewhere in Iraq. Ministry officials say they are worried for their own jobs, believing that fresh appointments will be based on cronyism rather than merit.

"Sumaidie was making progress and this is a job that needs continuity," says a CPA official. "His being fired puts us two to three months behind. Before, we were taking two steps forward and one back, and now it's two steps back and, hopefully, one forward."

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