The restoration of "full sovereignty has not been fully reflected" in the text, said Wang

NEW YORK, June 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The U.S. and Britain submitted late Tuesday, May 1, to the U.N. Security Council a revised draft resolution on Iraq that includes a rough timeline for the stay of a U.S.-led multinational force in the occupied country, but several council members remain dissatisfied.

The draft was careful not to stipulate a date to end the mandate of the multinational force, but says clearly it would expire after Iraq drafts a new constitution and elects a government, tentatively scheduled late in 2005 or early 2006.

The original text had an open-ended mandate for the foreign troops, now estimated at about 160,000, with only a review process, Reuters said.

The new draft states for the first time "that the presence of the multinational force in Iraq is at the request of the incoming interim government".

However, it doesn't specifically give the new leaders the right to ask the force to leave.

Instead, it anticipates that the incoming government will make a formal request "to retain the presence of the multinational force".

The new interim government was officially installed  on Tuesday, June 1, under prime minister Ayad Allawi.

The revised draft gives the Iraqi government considerable authority over its security, army and economy.

However, it still authorizes the U.S.-led forces to take "all necessary measures" to provide stability.

And it leaves open details of its relationship with the interim government to a separate exchange of letters.

The new version, designed to meet objections from France, Germany, China, Russia and others, affirms that the new Iraqi interim government will be "fully sovereign" after the June 30 official handover.

The government that is to take office on June 30 is to be followed by elections for a transitional government in January 2005, with a permanent government envisaged to take power by about early 2006.

Some of the 15-member council are still not satisfied with the revised text.

Algeria, the only Arab member on the council, stated that a final resolution should clearly give the Iraqis final say over the multinational force.

"We felt we needed to analyze it in more depth so as not to make mistakes," Algerian chief delegate to the U.N., Abdallah Baali, said after emerging from council consultations.

He stressed that the resolution should make clear Iraqi troops have the right to refuse a military order from the U.S. command.

"We still need to have language that would say that the Iraqi government's point of view will prevail over the MNF (multinational force) in case of major military operations," Baali said.

However, U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham indicated this provision would not be negotiable.

"Now that's a relationship between two sovereigns: those who are willing to contribute to the MNF (multinational force) and help Iraq, and the sovereign government," he claimed.

"But that's really something for us to work out amongst ourselves.

France, Germany, Russia and Chile also raised questions during closed-door debates, council diplomats said.

"We are not satisfied with the new version," a French diplomat told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding they need "clarification."

China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said the restoration of "full sovereignty has not been fully reflected" in the text.

The same view was echoed by French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, according to the French diplomat.

U.S. President George W. Bush outlined  on Monday, May 24, a five-step plan for power transfer to Iraqis, but set no date for the withdrawal of U.S.-led occupation forces.

The Security Council is not expected to reach a decision until talks have been held with more U.N. officials and with members of the Iraqi interim government, the BBC News Online said.

But U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Wednesday, June 2, that Washington is confident that a newly presented resolution on Iraq will win the backing of most of the Security Council members.