WP: U.S. Plan Seeks to Seal Military Ties With Iraq

[kskiska]

Civilians Being Trained in Washington to Run Army

Sunday, March 28, 2004; Page A01

BAGHDAD, March 27 -- U.S. officials are moving rapidly to create a civilian-run Iraqi Defense Ministry that will work in tandem with the American military after the handover of Iraqi sovereignty on June 30 and could form the nucleus of a strategic alliance between the two countries.

Since February, about 50 Iraqi officials have been flown to Washington to attend a Pentagon-run school on how to recruit, train and equip a military that operates under civilian leadership, according to the retired U.S. Army colonel who directs the program. A class of 25 graduated on Friday from the three-week course, which included meetings with officials in Congress and the Defense and State departments.

In addition, a former militia leader has been picked to lead Iraq's new defense bureaucracy, according to two people familiar with the decision. Bruska Shaways, the former commander of an Iraqi Kurd paramilitary force, aided U.S. commanders in northern Iraq last year during the invasion of the country. His appointment comes as the U.S. military is seeking to disband independent Iraqi militias.

With the handover of sovereignty less than 100 days away, the Bush administration and Iraq's leaders have not negotiated a status-of-forces agreement spelling out the rights and responsibilities of U.S. troops in Iraq after June 30. U.S. officials have said U.N. Resolution 1511, passed Oct. 16, and the Iraqi interim constitution adopted this month provide a legal basis for U.S. troops to remain in Iraq. But the establishment and staffing of an Iraqi Defense Ministry appear aimed at ensuring that the Iraqi military's new leaders will be responsive to U.S. interests, regardless of what kind of agreement is eventually reached.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29876-2004Mar27.html