Exiled Iraqi opposition leaders who returned to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein have been told by the U.S. administration they will not participate in forming a new government. Leaders of seven political parties, including the Pentagon-backed Iraqi National Congress, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraqi (SCIRI) and two Kurdish parties, returned to Baghdad expecting to head a new political regime. Instead of establishing a full interim government, Paul Bremer, the top U.S. civil administrator in Iraq, wants to appoint Iraqis to a council, which will advise the U.S. administration on policy decisions. The decision not to hand over power to the former opposition leaders, means the U.S. will maintain authority in Iraq longer than originally planned. The Washington Post reported one senior U.S. official as saying that tenure could last as long as two years.
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