Bremer Says U.S. Role Ends After Iraq Elections

The head of the U.S.-led occupation authority in Iraq said Tuesday that foreign forces would remain in the country only as long as it takes Iraqis to draft and approve a democratic constitution and hold elections.

Chief civil administrator L. Paul Bremer III also hinted that he already saw the role of the occupation authority receding, with several key policy areas being ceded to a newly created 25-member governing council. Bremer called the council -- the seed of a new Iraqi government -- “a tangible benefit of the liberation of this great country.”

Meeting behind closed doors for the third day Tuesday, the council decided to create a tribunal that would be charged with prosecuting former President Saddam Hussein and his senior associates if they are captured, said Entifahd Qanbar, a spokesman for the Iraqi National Congress, one of the parties on the council.

Details of the proposal were few, but Qanbar said the court’s assignment would be to put on trial “people from the former regime who committed crimes against humanity and genocide.” He said a judicial commission was being formed to draft the laws that would define the tasks and powers of the tribunal.

Now that the governing council has been seated, Bremer told journalists, the next task facing Iraq is the creation of a constitution “written by Iraqis for Iraqis.” The council is expected to name a constitutional conference by September, and experts have said it might take a year to write the country’s new basic laws.

“Once approved, democratic free and fair elections will be held in Iraq for a fully sovereign Iraqi government, and then our job is over,” Bremer said.

“We have no desire to stay a day longer than is necessary,” he said.

The comments seemed aimed at calming anxieties among some Iraqis that the United States is planning a long-lasting occupation of their country. With American troops facing uncertainty about when they will be allowed to go home, the remarks also seemed intended to alleviate fears that the U.S. commitment to Iraq is open-ended.

When asked about a timetable for an end to the occupation, Bremer said: “The timing of how long the coalition stays here is effectively now in the hands of the Iraqi people. It’s up to them.

“My personal preference ... is that it should happen as quickly as it can consistent with writing a good constitution -- largely because then I get to go home,” he said.

Speaking at his first news conference since the establishment of the governing council -- which includes members from each of Iraq’s main ethnic and religious communities -- Bremer appeared eager to emphasize that the council is now in charge of several key policy areas.

Among those he mentioned were visa policies, the budget for next year and amendments to the policy to prevent former high-ranking members of Hussein’s Baath Party from working for the government.

Bremer also confirmed that he did not foresee vetoing any measures approved by the council, in part because he is working so closely with the group and expects to see eye to eye on most issues.

“I don’t anticipate that we are going to have a problem with vetoes or non-vetoes,” he said.

Reporters have not been able to see the council in action, but Bremer signaled that he would not interfere with its workings. “I really think that it is important for the coalition, now that we have given the council a great deal of responsibility and authority, to let the council decide on their procedures,” he said.

Meanwhile, tensions remained high on the ground as U.S. and British military personnel braced for possible violence against them timed to coincide with this week’s anniversary of Hussein’s takeover of Iraq.

In the town of Habbaniyah, outside Ramadi, Task Force 4-64 of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade came under attack about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. It was guarding an old Iraqi ammunition depot and was attacked by eight Iraqis who fired at least four rocket-propelled grenades, said Lt. Col. Eric Wesley, the brigade’s executive officer.

The Americans returned fire and pursued the attackers with two Bradley fighting vehicles, he said. Five Iraqis were killed, one was wounded and captured, and two escaped. No Americans were wounded.

Asked about attacks on Americans, Bremer said that they were “dead-end” remnants of the old Baathist regime and that 80% of the assaults occurred in a narrow geographic band between Tikrit and Baghdad and between Ramadi and Baqubah.

“I have every confidence that we will impose our will on these renegades who are attacking not just us but ... the interests of the Iraqi people,” Bremer said.

Times staff writer David Zucchino in Fallouja, Iraq, contributed to this report.