U.S. Says It May Cede Control of Iraq by Next Year

The U.S. administrator of Iraq said Thursday that the United States could relinquish control of the country by next summer, a speeded-up timetable that would suit politicians in the United States and Iraq alike. But in a fresh reminder of instability, guerrillas staged two attacks that killed two American soldiers and wounded five others.

L. Paul Bremer III, at a ceremony inaugurating the partially refurbished Foreign Ministry, told Iraqi diplomats that a hand-over of power could come sooner than expected.

“How long will this take? It is in the hands of the Iraqi people. But it’s not unrealistic to think we would have elections by midyear 2004, and when that government is installed ... my job here will be over,” said Bremer, who was guarded by a combination of uniformed military, special operations forces and Secret Service agents.

The country is still far from secure. After a two-day respite in U.S. fatalities, Iraqi fighters armed with rifles killed one American and wounded two others northeast of Baghdad late Wednesday. And a mine along a well-traveled highway leading to Baghdad’s airport detonated as an armored vehicle passed over it Thursday, killing one soldier and wounding three others.

The deaths and injuries will not weaken America’s commitment to staying in the country as long as necessary, said the U.S. commander on the ground, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez. He said that “terrorists” related to the former ruling Baath Party have been augmented by criminals and foreign fighters in a country whose borders are wide open.

“I’m not worried. I’m absolutely not worried,” Sanchez told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. “The coalition is strong. The successes going on across this country are remarkable. Why would we be worried?”

A coalition spokesman said the U.S. occupation authority is in talks to turn over the bodies of Uday and Qusai Hussein, the sons of ousted President Saddam Hussein, to either tribal leaders or family members. The two men were killed by U.S. troops July 22 in the northern city of Mosul.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell approved giving a $30-million reward to the informant who led U.S. troops to the house where the brothers were hiding. The U.S. has not revealed the identity of the informant, although neighbors in Mosul speculated that it was the owner of the house.

Tracking and eliminating the two men was a milestone for the civilian authority led by Bremer. Just returned from Washington where he had briefed President Bush, Bremer has laid out a calendar for Iraq’s transition to self-rule that some observers here said could be overly optimistic.

“What are the steps that lead to a sovereign government? There are three: the creation of the governing council, which occurred on July 13 ... the drafting of a constitution, recognized as legitimate by the Iraqi people ... and the election of a sovereign government,” Bremer said.

He spoke at a ceremony attended by more than 50 Iraqi diplomats as well as the U.N. special representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

An Iraqi politician close to the country’s new governing council said that it would be difficult to meet Bremer’s timetable but that the U.S. elections next year might be one factor motivating Washington to begin the exit from Iraq as soon as possible.

“The key issue is that the Bush administration would like to produce some results for the American public,” said the high-ranking staff member for the Iraqi council. “They didn’t find any weapons of mass destruction, and if there’s no elected government, no elections, no real democracy by the time of the 2004 elections, it would be a big, big debacle.”

Riven by rivalry and competing visions for the country, the 25-member council took more than two weeks to arrive at a decision on its president, and then managed only an inelegant compromise: a presidency that would revolve among nine members who would serve one month each. So it is uncertain how swiftly the council will manage to move on setting up a constitutional process.

The political questions have arisen amid a backdrop of daily attacks on U.S. forces that have killed 52 soldiers since May 1, the date Bush declared major combat over.

Speaking to reporters, Sanchez said that attacks on Americans might continue as long as U.S. forces are in the country. “I think you have to accept as a commander that there are terrorist groups here,” he said.

But he stressed that the U.S. forces would persevere, adjust their tactics and defeat their attackers. “We can the stay the course here. We will stay the course,” he said. “We’re not going to fail.”

In the field, U.S. troops keep an eye out for the ambush or roadside bomb that can occur at any time.

A Times correspondent and photographer witnessed the explosion that struck a U.S. M-113 armored personnel carrier on the west bank of the Tigris shortly after noon Thursday, killing a trooper of the 1st Armored Division and wounding three other soldiers. White smoke poured from the stricken vehicle as two Humvees pulled up alongside. Within seconds, soldiers had leaped from the Humvees to help pull out the M-113 crew.

About 10 minutes after the land mine exploded, the M-113 burst into flames, sending a pillar of black smoke into the bright blue sky. Hundreds of young men and boys gathered to stare. Several teenagers raised four fingers and chanted “Arbaa! Arbaa!” -- “Four! Four!” They insisted, with satisfaction, that four soldiers had died.

Elsewhere, U.S. soldiers look vulnerable and tense, their wraparound sunglasses and bulky flak jackets making them appear alien in this hostile landscape. With a soldier killed every other day, none knows who’ll be next.

That contributed to a decidedly grim cast of mind Thursday among soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division stationed in the Baqubah area northeast of Baghdad, where one soldier was killed and two were wounded in the small-arms attack late Wednesday. Every night, the thud of mortar rounds and reports of gunfire shatter the silence, they said.

“Stuff happens. Men die,” said Capt. Josh Felker, stationed a few miles out of Baqubah. “As long as we have people here, men will die.”

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Rubin and Daniszewski reported from Baghdad. Times staff writers Robyn Dixon in Baqubah and David Zucchino in Baghdad contributed to this report.