What should the Coalition Provisional Authority be doing to lend more credibility to new Iraqi leaders?
The CPA must recognize which Iraqis on the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council represent real constituencies and can command respect. For the most part, that’s going to be leaders who lived through Saddam Hussein’s brutal reign — not the exiles who courted the Bush Administration. Those who were initially excluded from the Governing Council could be promised roles in the new government in exchange for cooperation in opposing radicals, who threaten to turn the Shiite majority against the reform effort. Can the U.N. help? Absolutely. U.N. Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi is playing a critical role in helping form a new Iraqi Interim Government (IIG). The U.N. is reluctant to appear to support the occupation. But Washington hopes that U.N. Ambassador John D. Negroponte — who is likely to be named the first ambassador to Iraq after power is handed back — can help smooth the way for a U.N. resolution that would boost the new Iraqi government’s legitimacy. The U.N. already is helping to
