Retired Generals Discuss the Possible Formation of a New Iraqi Army

20/04/2003| IslamWeb

A meeting was recently held in the Iraqi capital to discuss the possible formation of a new army to replace former military groups under Saddam Hussein and ensure "security and services" for the Iraqi people. The Arab television station Al-Jazeera Saturday broadcast pictures of a meeting chaired by former and retired generals to discuss the possible formation of a new armed force in Iraq.

The Al-Jazeera correspondent said the meeting, chaired by former and retired generals, was the first democratic initiative to openly discuss the issue.

General Jouad Al-abidi said, "We used to work to get rid of the Ba'ath regime and now that Iraq has been liberated, we are working with the Iraqi people to ensure security and services."

Referring to efforts to restore law and order in Baghdad, and other areas in Iraq, one of the men chairing the meeting said, "We want the army to control the situation and not terrorize the people".

Although no final decisions or agreements were made the meeting in Baghdad was an opportunity for Iraqis to express their views and fears in relation to the possible formation of a new-armed force in the country, said the Al-Jazeera reporter.

The date the meeting took place was unclear from the Al-Jazeera report.

Other Key Developments in Iraq

*_Iraqi police handed Saddam Hussein's finance minister, Hikmat Ibrahim al-Azzawi, over to U.S. forces Saturday after capturing him in Baghdad. Azzawi is the eighth of diamonds in a deck of cards issued to troops hunting Saddam and other ousted leaders. The seizure of Azzawi followed the capture by Kurdish forces of Samir Abdul Aziz al-Najim, a senior Baath party official, near Mosul. Azzawi was the fifth of the 55 most wanted to be taken. U.S. officials are also seeking leads on Saddam's alleged secret Bank accounts abroad from Saddam's half-brother Barzan, who is also in custody. Meanwhile, Officials in Washington said Imad Husayn Abdallah al-Ani, an Iraqi once involved in the country's suspected nerve gas programme had also surrendered to American forces and was being interrogated. He was not on the most-wanted list and denies that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction.

*_Coalition forces sorting through thousands of Iraqi war prisoners have released nearly 900 after determining they were civilians who had nothing to do with the fighting.

*_In Germany, seven freed U.S. prisoners of war have flown home to the United States after spending three days being treated for their wounds at a U.S. military hospital there.

*_U.S. Marines began pulling out of Baghdad but only as part of a planned handover to the U.S. Army, which, according to US sources, is better equipped to handle the reconstruction of the battered capital.

*_Stores have begun to re-open for business in Baghdad where up until recently residents had to rely on street vendors for their goods. Traffic activity has also increased on the streets of the Iraqi capital - a sign that Iraqis in the city of five million are starting to resume their everyday lives.

*_ In southern Iraq, British forces have relaunched a train service from the port of Umm Qasr to use it as an aid supply lifeline into the heart of Iraq. A simple ceremony was held on the docks, which is the starting point for the railway. Also in Basra, schools began reopening Saturday amid signs that the city is slowly returning to normality.

*_In Northern Iraq, relative calm has returned to the streets of Mosul, the country's third largest city after Baghdad and Basra, following gun battles between US Marines and Iraqi resistance earlier in the week. Mosul has seen numerous disturbances since Kurdish and US forces moved in. Tensions have escalated between Arab residents and the large Kurdish minority in the city of 700-thousand.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi demonstrators chant anti-U.S. and pro-Islamic slogans during a protest march against the United States following Friday Muslim prayers in central Baghdad, Friday April 18, 2003. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)