Iraq's interim Prime Minister cosy with US power elite (Brahimi bypassed)

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3569495&thesection=news&thesubsection=world

The appointment of Iyad Allawi as Iraq's interim Prime Minister is being seen as an American-backed coup that wrong-footed Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations envoy supposed to be putting together the interim government which will wield "sovereignty" after June 30.

The more that is learned, however, about the sudden emergence of Allawi, a man close to the CIA and MI6, the more it appears the appointment of the new government has been hijacked by the ambitious politicians of the Iraqi Governing Council - the very body it was meant to replace.

The only question is who the council was conspiring with as its members picked jobs for themselves.

<snip>

The US occupation governor in Iraq, Paul Bremer, was apparently with the council for an hour before Brahimi was summoned to be informed of the decision.

Brahimi's statement that he welcomed Allawi's appointment, which effectively sealed it, sounded like nothing so much as a man relieved to pass the buck on an awkward question. But in outflanking the UN, Bremer and his political masters have sacrificed much credibility for an interim government that is already the subject of huge scepticism both in Iraq and abroad.

...more...

~snip~
Bremer and President Bush (news - web sites)'s special envoy, Robert Blackwill, attended part of a five-hour council session Sunday and urged the members not to vote on the presidency, according to one council member.


The Americans threatened not to recognize the council's choice, the member said on condition of anonymity. The Coalition Provisional Authority, run by Bremer, has the final say in all policy decisions in Iraq.


Coalition spokesman Dan Senor denied the Americans were showing favoritism toward Pachachi. "We are not pressuring or urging any one candidate over another," he told reporters.


The tough stand by Bremer in support of Pachachi, an 81-year-old former exile, was unexpected because the Americans had signaled that they were primarily interested in approving the choice for prime minister, the top executive job that went to U.S.-backed Iyad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim, on Friday.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=5&u=/ap/20040530/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_politics

Why get jerked around like this. He's just being used as a cover for the Bush regime to have its way.