Commentary: UN sidelined in choice of Iraqi leader: White House struggles to defend the selection of candidate who is hardly known in his own country

• Published in: The Observer (London)
• Main Author: Peter Beaumont, Luke Harding, Paul Harris and Gaby Roslin
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 30.05.2004
• ISSN: 0029-7712

The intended aim was to decide only after the widest consultation, following [Lakhdar Brahimi]'s insistence that candidates should not simply be confined to a council handpicked by the US, often from groups with little popular support within Iraq. Brahimi himself had stressed he would prefer a technocrat from outside a body where 18 out of the 25 members hold foreign passports, including [Iyad Allawi], who is a British citizen. Downing Street, which was left out of the loop, put on a brave face, saying the government would not expect to have been consulted, despite its officials having been in touch with Brahimi on a daily basis. 'It was a matter for the UN and interim coalition government, not for the British or American governments,' said a senior Downing Street source. 'It is Brahimi's job to work with them to produce a recommended team of people. The last thing that would be appropriate is saying, "We prefer X rather than Y".' Allawi faces a tough job in trying to persuade already dubious Iraqis that his appointment was not simply stitched up between the US and self-interested parties on the council, who will hold senior positions in the new government, despite promises from Brahimi that the interim government would contain fresh faces.