LONDON Ñ The Bush administration appears to have agreed on a role
for the Iraqi opposition in efforts to topple the regime of President Saddam
Hussein.
"It is the first time that the U.S. administration has issued a joint
letter from the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies," Iraqi
National Congress spokesman Nabil Mousawi said. "Finally we have one
intended policy from all sections of the administration."
Administration sources said the Bush administration has settled on an unspecified
role for the Iraqi opposition, Middle East Newsline reported. They said this could include fomenting
unrest, encouraging defections and collecting intelligence.
Iraqi opposition sources said after years of debate the State
Department, the Defense Department and the U.S. intelligence community have
agreed on the need to include the Iraqi opposition in any military campaign
against Baghdad. The sources said they expected the administration to
increase support to the opposition to foment unrest against and encourage
defections within the Saddam regime.
Over the weekend, Iraqi opposition leaders and the administration said
the United States has summoned six anti-Saddam groups to Washington. The
meeting is expected to take place by the middle of August.
[On Sunday, British and U.S. fighter-jets attacked Iraqi air defense
facilities near the Kuwaiti border. The attacks took place in Wasit, 170
kilometers south of Baghdad and several unspecified installations were
struck.]
The invitation was sent to the INC and the group said it would attend
the meeting. Other groups that received the invitation included the Shi'ite
opposition, the monarchists, two Kurdish movements and the Iraqi National
Accord.
The Iraqi opposition representatives are scheduled to meet
Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman and Defense Undersecretary Douglas
Feith. The meetings are expected between Aug. 9 and Aug. 16.
In a related development, the United States has acknowleged a new policy
to stop Iraqi oil from being smuggled through the northern Red Sea. U.S.
officials said the U.S. Fifth Fleet has expanded its inspections of
suspicious vessels near such countries as Egypt, Jordan and Sudan.
