U.S. Considers Larger Iraqi Governing Council

[Khephra]

U.S. Considers Larger Iraqi Governing Council
Plan Could Limit Powers in a Nod to Ayatollah
By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 2, 2004; Page A16


The United States is working on a new plan for turning over political power to Iraq by June 30 that could expand the Iraqi Governing Council but limit its powers to avoid another confrontation with Iraq's leading religious cleric, U.S. officials said.

This latest proposal would create a new Consultative Council to assume sovereignty from the U.S.-led coalition and run Iraq until direct elections can be held, the officials added. Although the coalition has developed several other options, the Bush administration discussed this plan with its partners in the coalition and U.N. diplomats last week, according to U.S. officials.

The coalition is now considering relying on an expanded Governing Council in part because starting from scratch could delay or complicate the transition. The Bush administration fears that a new authority might generate the same problems that L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq, had in getting the original Iraqi Governing Council to function as a viable Iraqi partner last year. The council's 25 members, appointed by the coalition, had disparate goals and little or no government experience.

"The Governing Council may not be perfect, but it has learned to work together, and there's some important merit to that. If we had to bring a whole new group together, they would have to go through the same thing. The current council members have learned how to operate together, and they know each other's red lines," said a U.S. official familiar with the decision.

more.....................

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20885-2004Mar1.html

[mobuto]

1. The larger the deliberative body,

the weaker each member and the stronger the leadership. Political Science 101.