Bush Doesn’t Expect Shiite Theocracy

President Bush said he did not believe that a Shiite Muslim state dominated by Iran would emerge in Iraq, according to a transcript of an interview he gave to an Arab newspaper that was released Thursday.

Shiites make up the majority in Iraq, outnumbering Sunni Muslims. Bush was asked Tuesday by Arab newspaper Al Zaman whether he feared a Shiite state in Iraq.

“No, I do not believe that there’s going to be a Shiite theocracy in Iraq, dominated by Iran. I believe the Iraqi people want to have their own country, their own identity, that [they] understand the Shiite, Sunni and Kurd can and must work together for the good of the whole,” he said.

“And I believe the Iraqi people don’t want to be dominated by anybody. They want the United States to be a friend, but the United States to not dominate. They certainly don’t want the Iranians to dominate.”

Bush plans to detail in a public address Monday the course in Iraq for the weeks remaining before the scheduled June 30 transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis. He is expected to give a number of weekly speeches on Iraq.

The White House said it was deferring to Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations special envoy to Iraq, to release the names of the interim president, prime minister and other officials in the caretaker government.