Iraqi Council Seeking Role on U.N. Panel

Iraq’s governing council, acting confidently in its first full day on the job, voted Monday to send a delegation to the U.N. Security Council and assert its right to represent Baghdad on the world stage.

In a statement, President Bush called the establishment of the council “an important step forward in the ongoing transition from ruthless dictatorship to a free and democratic Iraq.”

Supporters as well as opponents of the U.S. war with Iraq believe formation of an Iraqi administration could make it easier for them to contribute to the reconstruction of the country, a crucial way of improving their ties with Washington.

“I welcome the setting up of the governing council in Iraq ... as a first important step toward a genuine and representative Iraqi administration,” said Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief.

The 25-member council, which includes representatives from diverse religious and ethnic groups, has the power to appoint interim ministers, help draft the national budget and set broad national policy. But final control rests with L. Paul Bremer III, chief U.S. civil administrator of Iraq.

That, and the fact the council was selected rather than elected, led to criticism at a meeting in Cairo, where Arab League chief Amr Moussa showed little eagerness to embrace the new political body.

If the new council had been elected, Moussa said Sunday night, “it would have gained much power and credibility.”

Meanwhile, several thousand people -- including Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds -- attended a ceremony in honor of the possible successor to the long-vacant Iraqi throne, Sharif Ali bin Hussein, who greeted well-wishers at his palatial headquarters.

The occasion was Revolution Day, the 45th anniversary of a bloody coup in 1958 when nationalists killed King Faisal II, Iraq’s last monarch.