U.S. calls off congress on Iraq's future

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BAGHDAD -- The United States yesterday abandoned plans to call a huge national congress of exiles and opposition leaders to form a new government for Iraq and instead opted for a small council of Iraqis to be appointed by U.S. occupation authorities.

The smaller group, consisting of two to three dozen Iraqi advisers, could be in place within three weeks, a senior official of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) told reporters last night on the condition of anonymity.

The council would be charged with drafting a constitution and other tasks leading to a turnover of authority by the United States and its coalition partners to a democratically elected government.

The CPA official declined to give reasons behind the shift, but it appeared to be designed to dilute influence of some exiled political groups that had supplied intelligence to the United States and had exerted influence over U.S. planning for the war.

The 25-to-40-member council will be "the voice and face of Iraq in its interaction with the CPA," the official said.

"We are asking Iraqis ... for recommendations. I hope it will be a broad-based process" reflecting Iraq's geographic regions and demographics, the official said.

However, he said, "these are guidelines, not quotas."

He said that the coalition, which has assumed responsibility as the occupying power, would remain in control of Iraq's affairs until a permanent government is elected.

He could not say when a sovereign Iraqi government would be in place, but yesterday's shift in plans marked an effort to speed the process.