Iraq Opposition Talks Saddam Ouster

13/07/2002| IslamWeb

HIGHLIGHTS: The London Meetings Arranged by Iraqi National Coalition Military Alliance and Not Iraqi National Congress||Congress Head, Prince Al-Hassan of Jordan & American Embassy Personnel Attend Meetings||Meeting to Discuss Role in Supporting Opposition to Topple Saddam|| STORY: Former Iraqi military officers and civilian opposition groups seeking a role in a future democratic Iraq discussed efforts Friday to topple Saddam Hussein. (Read photo caption)

More than 200 people attended an open meeting at a convention hall to discuss how to bring down Saddam's regime in Baghdad and secure democracy, organizers said. The meetings were to last through the weekend.

The meetings were arranged by the Iraqi National Coalition Military Alliance and not the Iraqi National Congress, a London-based confederation of Iraqi opposition groups that has received 97 million U.S. dollars in U.S. aid.

However, congress members were attending, organizers said.

The head of the congress, Ahmed Chalabi, said he hoped news of the meeting would bolster the hopes of Iraqis who wanted Saddam to fall.

Also present was Prince Hassan bin-Talal of Jordan, who said he was there as an observer and did not represent the Jordanian government. He wished the gathering success and said he was pleased to see its diversity, a translator said.

He told reporters that the meeting's delegates were one of many groups that would help chart a course for Iraq. "The people of Iraq themselves have to take their own decisions about their own future," he said.

Albert Yelda, co-founder of the Iraqi National Coalition, said the meeting would be the largest gathering ever of exiled Iraqi officers. He said they hope to unify those in exile and still inside Iraq in "establishing a democratic regime where the Iraqis, Assyrians, Christians, Muslims, Arabs, Kurds and Turkomans can live peacefully and equally."

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington that personnel from the American embassy in London also would attend. Representatives from the Pentagon were present, too.

The United States is not supporting the conference financially, he said.

In closed meetings Saturday and Sunday, the former officers will talk about their role in supporting the Iraqi opposition, toppling the current regime and bolstering democracy, he said.

Yelda said some of the exiled officers participating in the meeting had escaped from Iraq within the past year, while others have been out of the country for more than five years.

The United States accuses Saddam of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and supporting terrorists. President Bush has said it is his government's policy to "have a regime change" in Iraq.

Bush, who seems focused for now on covert action, signed an order earlier this year directing the CIA to increase support to Iraqi opposition groups and allowing possible use of CIA and Special Forces teams against Saddam.

If covert attempts fail, some expect Bush to try military action.

The London Times reported Friday that if the United States attacks Iraq, British Special Forces would participate by sabotaging Iraqi plants making weapons of mass destruction. The newspaper quoted a senior British military source as saying Washington has not formally requested British troops.

PHOTO CAPTION

Sheik Mohammed Ali, left, a member of the Iraqi National Coalition (INC) party, sits alongside Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan Friday July 12, 2002, as they attend the first day of the three-day INC Military Alliance conference in London, Friday July 12, 2002. The convention is a meeting of former Iraqi military officers and civilian opposition groups who are seeking a role the future of Iraq. (AP Photo/Martyn Hayhow)
- Jul 12 3:51 PM ET