US Signals it Might Consider UN Force in Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, August 29, 2003

US Signals it Might Consider UN Force in Iraq

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The Bush administration has signaled for the first time that it is open to the possibility of having a United Nations-sponsored multinational force in Iraq under the condition that it is commanded by the United States, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The idea was described by Richard Armitage, deputy secretary ofthe State Department, as just "one idea being explored" in discussions at the United Nations. It was first hinted in public last week by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Armitage's remarks, released by the State Department Wednesday,represent a potential shift in course for the Bush administration,which has until now insisted that all military, economic and political matters in Iraq remain under total American control.

Allowing the United Nations a leadership role would be intendedto win the support of the Security Council for a new mandate authorizing the American-led occupation of Iraq.

But Armitage described the arrangement under consideration as "a multinational force under UN leadership" in which "the American would be the UN commander."

The Pentagon has historically opposed any option in which American troops are not under American command. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has voiced opposition to putting the current American force in Iraq under UN command.

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