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US officials in Iraq to select members of advisory council

Iraq's US administrators have decided to select a small group of Iraqis to serve on an interim advisory council rather than convene a large a national conference to create a transitional authority, The Washington Post reported yesterday.

The newspaper quoted a senior US official who spoke on condition of anonymity as saying that the council could be formed within about six weeks.

The official, who spoke to a group of reporters in Baghdad, said the shift in plans from a conference to an appointed council was driven by "an enormous and complicated agenda" for the reconstruction of Iraq, the newspaper reported.

Iraqi political groups anxious for a greater say in running their country had expected a national conference to create a US-supervised transitional authority.

Iraq's US administrator, Paul Bremer, said late last month the conference would likely be held in July, more than a month later than originally planned.

Citing the unnamed senior official, the Post reported that the US occupation authority now planned instead to handpick 25 to 30 Iraqis to advise US officials on day-to-day governance issues.

The official told the newspaper that the council would be selected by the US and British governments, but would be chosen "through a process of consultation" with Iraqis.

"We are asking the Iraqis with whom we are in contact for their suggestions for who should be involved in this process," the official was quoted as saying.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ryan Crocker briefed representatives of seven formerly exiled political groups about the planned council on Sunday in Baghdad, the Post reported.

In related news, thousands of sacked Iraqi soldiers marched on the US-led administration in Baghdad yesterday and threatened to launch suicide attacks on American troops unless they were paid wages and compensation.

More than 3,000 angry soldiers massed outside the administration headquarters in a presidential palace shouting slogans and vowing a wave of attacks unless they got their money.

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