The United States circulated a new UN draft resolution to gain support for its Iraq policy, but faced a worsening row with Baghdad on Monday over the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq. Diplomats at the UN said the new resolution would call on Iraq’s US-appointed Governing Council to fix a deadline by December 15 for the transfer of power to Iraqis. But it doesn’t offer a firm deadline for the hand over, nor does it substantially beef up the political role of the UN in the transition process, key demands of such critics of the war as France, Germany and Russia. Iraq’s US-appointed Governing Council itself bared its teeth at Washington with continuing Opposition to Turkish troops entering the country at all, despite a US call for help in establishing security. Baghdad is suspicious of Turkish intentions, particularly in the Kurdish areas, which Ankara regards as a strategic area. Ankara’s military, meanwhile, said it would not decide how many soldiers to send until it knew which part of the country they were going to, a sensitive issue. US troops are still searching for President Saddam Hussein. A senior officer said on Monday he was believed to have been near his home town of Tikrit recently and was leading resistance to the US-led occupation. ‘‘We have clear indications that Saddam was here recently,’’ said Major Troy Smith, executive officer of the 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit. ‘‘Do I know where he is? No,’’ he added. Washington’s leading critics have called for a timetable to return sovereignty to Iraq sooner rather than later and boost the role of the United Nations in post-war reconstruction. The US has called for more foreign troops and cash to help it out in Iraq, with Bush under increasing political pressure at home ahead of an election year in 2004. But it has been reluctant to dilute its control in Baghdad. The latest draft resolution at the UN is co-sponsored by US allies Britain and Spain. No date has been set for a vote, or for its formal introduction to the Council. The Governing Council wants no forces from neighbouring countries coming into Iraq. ‘‘The Governing Council feels it is better not to involve and engage any of Iraq’s neighbouring countries in peacekeeping missions because of the sensitivities of the whole issue,’’ said Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, in Malaysia for an Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit. However, he hinted at compromise: ‘‘The mission of Turkish forces must be limited to peacekeeping and not involve intervention in Iraq’s affairs, and also supply lines must be under the control of coalition and local or Kurdish forces.’’ —(Reuters)
