Times: UN prepares post-war plan for Iraq

The UN is developing a secret plan for the reconstruction of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, the Times writes . The plan was developed by a group of experts at the special order of Louise Frechette, Canadian Deputy Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan. The piquancy of the situation lies in the fact that, while developing such a plan, the UN continues to consider Saddam as the legitimate head of the state of Iraq.

In Iraq, the UN intends to follow the Afghan scenario. Within three months after the overthrow of Hussein, the country will be under the control of the United States and Great Britain, after which the creation of an independent government will begin. An Auxiliary Mission of the United Nations (Unami) will be formed in Iraq, which will deal with the creation of the country's government. The creators of the plan recommend that the UN immediately appoint a representative who, after the fall of Saddam, would lead this mission. According to sources, Lakhdar Brahimi, who successfully performed similar duties in Afghanistan and was able to create a government of national accord in that country, could be appointed UN representative in Iraq. Brahimi's daughter, by the way, reports from Baghdad for CNN.

Great Britain proposed immediately after the overthrow of Saddam to introduce direct UN rule in the country, similar to what was done in Kosovo and East Timor, and to create a special UN agency that would control the production and trade of Iraqi oil. However, UN experts said that the organization simply could not manage a country that is 30 times the size of East Timor. "The Panel of Experts came to the conclusion that although a transitional administration appointed by the UN seems to be preferable to an administration established by the occupying forces, its establishment is impossible: the UN does not have the ability to take over the full administration of Iraq," the experts said. "The preferred option for the UN is to establish a support mission in Iraq that would provide political assistance, act as a mediator in negotiations, promote national reconciliation and develop democratic and lawful governance."