Bremer will tackle the establishment of an advisory council with Kurdish leaders

Additional Reporting By Ahmad el-Zawayti, IOL Iraq Correspondent  

Sulaimaniya, Iraq, June 29 (IslamOnlin.net) – U.S. civil administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer held talks here Sunday, June 29, with the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Jalal Talabani, kicking-start talks on the future of the war-scarred country and the U.S.-proposed advisory council of Iraqi political powers, which is expected to be set up in lieu of an interim Iraqi government.

Bremer arrived here Saturday, June 28, and met with Talabani, however, they did not held a joint press conference and only made brief statements to reporters.

Talabani told reporters that the KPU rallies behind Bremer's plans for postwar Iraq, noting that they tackled increasing the members of the so-called advisory council and setting up other councils to draw up a constitution for Iraq.

Backtracking on early pledges of an interim government that would lead to a permanent one, Bremer said during a meeting with the former Iraqi exiles earlier in the month that he intended to appoint Iraqis to a council that would advise him on policy decisions instead of endorsing the formation of a full interim government.

For his part, Bremer told Al-Jazeera satellite channel on Sunday that the council would play a pivotal role in the country, adding that the council would set up the Iraqi government and will include various committees to cover the country's "burning issues".

Bremer further said that the council will hold a congress to draw up a constitution for the country.

Talabani expressed his optimism at Bremer's statements and the conclusions of his meeting.

"Clichés"

However, some analysts dismissed Bremer's statements as "clichés" that rife with unfulfilled promises.

Bremer is expected to also hold talks with leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Massoud Barzani.

Earlier in the month, Bremer sidelined Iraqi exile opposition leaders on grounds they were "insufficient and disorganized".

In the eight weeks after Baghdad fell to U.S. forces, leaders of seven political groups that had opposed Saddam acted with the swagger of a government in waiting.

The sevenfold council comprises the PUK, the KDP, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), the Iraqi National Accord (INA), the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the Shiite Al-Da’wa Party and the Sunni National Democratic Party.

But as days went by they found that dreams of assuming power evaporated, and that the U.S. was exploiting to the full the recently passed Security Council resolution giving Washington and London broad authority to run Iraq.

In a meeting Wednesday, May 22, Bremer put off until at least July a planned meeting of Iraqi politicians to chart out the country's political future.