American officials in Iraq have raised objections to certain candidates being considered for the defense and interior ministry posts in the country's incoming government, according to Fawaz al-Jarba, a Sunni member of the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance. The concerns center on nominees seen as having ties to or influence from Iran and Syria.
Among the names circulating for security portfolios are Hadi al-Ameri, commander of the Iranian-trained Badr Corps, and Ahmed Chalabi, whose party previously faced a US espionage investigation linked to Iran. Chalabi has said his relationship with Washington has since been mended. A US Embassy spokesman flatly denied that American officials had weighed in on any individual candidate.
Al-Jarba, a tribal leader from the Shammar clan and a relative of outgoing president Ghazi al-Yawar, said he himself is being considered for speaker of parliament, vice president, or defense minister. He noted that both the Shiite alliance and Kurdish parties had invited Iyad Allawi's bloc, which finished third in the elections, to join a coalition government, possibly with Allawi serving as a security-focused deputy prime minister.
The newly elected parliament was expected to reconvene to choose a speaker and form a presidential council. Leaders agreed that the defense and interior portfolios should go to Arab ministers, one Sunni and one Shiite.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in March 2005, in its own words.