U.S. military commanders will work in close partnership with the new Iraqi government to coordinate operations and security efforts, according to Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Speaking to Middle East Broadcasting Center's Aziz Fahmy in a June 2 interview, Powell said, "The understanding we will enter into with this new government is that there will be mechanisms at a political level and at a military level where both sides will be familiar with the plans of the other. The plans will be integrated into a single operational plan."

The secretary said that the U.S. forces in Iraq would operate within a U.S. chain of command while Iraqi forces will operate within an Iraqi chain of command. He dismissed the idea that this arrangement is likely to generate problems.

"They will work together as partners, just as we have worked together with our Korean friends, with our German friends, with other allies that we worked with over the years," he said. "We're not looking for ways to cause problems. We're looking for ways to solve problems."

Powell cited the experiences of U.S. forces in Fallujah and Najaf to underscore their heightened understanding of the political environment.

"The Marines started to go in and narrow down the pocket [of resistance], but we realized to do more would create a lot of damage to the city and might cause a loss of innocent life. And Iraqi political leaders said, please, there has got to be another way to handle this. So we stood back and let political authorities go in, tribal Sheikhs and others, find a solution," Powell said.

He said, "We will work with Iraqi authorities to make sure that their needs and their desires and their political imperative and their sovereignty is protected as we go about providing security for them."

The secretary also reaffirmed the administration's support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to remove 21 settlements in Gaza and four settlements in the West Bank as a means to return to the road-map process.

Commenting on the discussions about the Greater Middle East at the upcoming G8 Summit in Sea Island, Georgia, Powell dismissed the idea that the United States or any other G8 nation seeks to impose reforms on the Arab world.

"We are anxious to be partners with the Arab world ... because we believe there is a need for modernization, for reform, in the area. Many nations are going, you know, as full throttle as they can toward reform. We want to help them," Powell said.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
June 2, 2004

INTERVIEW

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
On Middle East Broadcasting Center with Aziz Fahmy

June 2, 2004
Washington, D.C.

(2:10 p.m. EDT)

MR. FAHMY: Mr. Secretary, first, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. Second, I'd like to give you some positive feedback from the Security Council. I talked to some people there; everybody is very happy with the adjustment that the United States did, but they still have two areas would like some improvement: one is the sovereignty issue; and the second that the Security Council resolution clearly state that the Iraqi interim government has the power, veto power, for major operation if, God forbids, we have a situation of Fallujah II.

What do you (inaudible) response?

SECRETARY POWELL: First of all, the clear intention of the resolution is to show that the Iraqi interim government has full sovereignty. The best evidence of that is that Ambassador Bremer, when this resolution is passed and when that government takes over, is going to leave. And so the CPA goes, the occupation, as we know it, goes, and the government will have full sovereignty.

We are working now with the Prime Minister-designate, Mr. Allawi, to determine the proper relationship between the coalition forces that will remain and the new interim government. We believe we can determine a correct partnership between the two. The resolution does not talk about a veto over any military operations. In fact, we have had relationships like this with many countries over the last 50 years. We've had troops in Germany, we've had troops in Korea, where those nations were sovereign, but we entered into an understanding as to how those troops would be used.

The understanding we will enter into with this new government is that there will be mechanisms at a political level and at a military level where both sides will be familiar with the plans of the other. The plans will be integrated into a single operational plan. And I don't expect that we will run into any problems of this kind.

MR. FAHMY: So the United States will maintain a position that prefer -- that this will be a bilateral basis between the interim government and the U.S.?

SECRETARY POWELL: I think it should be because some of the people who say, well, we have to put something into the resolution, I would have to remind them, wait a minute, the resolution makes the interim Iraqi government sovereign, so they should be the ones that are entering into an agreement with the coalition forces as to how those forces will be used in Iraq.

Clearly, the United States troops always remain under the command of United States officers and reporting through the Department of Defense to the President. And, at the same time, Iraqi forces will not be under our command; they'll be under the command of Iraqi Generals and the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and the Iraqi Prime Minister and President.

But they will work together as partners, just as we have worked together with our Korean friends, with our German friends, with other allies that we worked with over the years. And we'll work out the necessary arrangements between this sovereign government, the Iraqi interim government, and, subsequently, other Iraqi governments when they're elected, and U.S. forces.

We're not looking for ways to cause problems. We're looking for ways to solve problems. What they need is security, and the 138,000 troops that we have there, the other coalition troops that are there, are there to provide security for this new government as it builds up its own forces. And as the Iraqi forces become more capable, then our forces can start to pull back, do less and give more responsibility to the Iraqi forces.

MR. FAHMY: But as the Security Council understands, the interim government has no veto power over certain --

SECRETARY POWELL: Not over -- well, you can't -- you can't use the word "veto." The Iraqi interim government is sovereign, and in that sovereign status it has said that we consent to the presence of coalition forces, we want coalition forces there, we are going to coordinate and cooperate with each other.

But circumstances could arise where a situation is developing and our troops have to act in a way that protects them. And, hopefully, it will always be with the agreement and understanding of the Iraqi interim government. There could be a situation where we have to act and there may be a disagreement, and we have to act to protect ourselves or to accomplish a mission.

But this is the small hypothetical that people like to take you to, but I don't really anticipate it being a problem. We demonstrated in Fallujah, we demonstrated in Najaf and other cities in the south, that we understand the political environment in which we are operating, and we will work with Iraqi authorities to make sure that their needs and their desires and their political imperative and their sovereignty is protected as we go about providing security for them.

MR. FAHMY: Now, Mr. Secretary, allow me to be frank with you. A lot of people in the Middle East, and even in the American media here, suggest that because of the presidential elections approaching so fast, that the Bush Administration had reversed its position on the Fallujah, as you mentioned, and on Najaf, as well as the, now, the Security Council. How do you address this concern?

SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I don't think it's accurate. I'm not sure what the basis for such criticism would be. Fallujah has nothing to do with the election. Fallujah had to do with a city that was heavily populated, and it had some people inside that city who were murdering Americans -- four, you know, Americans -- and we had to do something about this pocket of resistance.

And so the Marines started to go in and narrow down the pocket, but we realized to do more would create a lot of damage to the city and might cause a loss of innocent life. And Iraqi political leaders said, please, there has got to be another way to handle this. So we stood back and let political authorities go in, tribal Sheikhs and others, find a solution. And so far, things have been calm in Fallujah for the last five or six weeks, and we hope it stays that way.

We still have to be nervous about the fact that there are people inside of Fallujah who are still not doing the right kind of things. There are still bad people in there. But nevertheless, we are working with the local political authorities and Iraqi police and civil defense troops in order to control that situation, and we're not going in and destroying buildings and hospitals, and hurting innocent people.

I think we're being very prudent in the way we use our forces. It's got nothing to do with the presidential election.

MR. FAHMY: But you know, on this particular issue, if you might allow me, in the beginning the United States said that certain things must happen. Now, those demands are not repeated anymore about, you know, actually kicking out or making sure that the foreigners have left Fallujah and to capture those who are responsible for what they did to the American contractors.

SECRETARY POWELL: We would still like to do that and we have not forgotten what those murderers did. And we have not forgotten that there are people inside of Fallujah who are a source of insecurity and instability in the region. But it does not necessarily mean we should charge in right now with force in order to find them.

We will work the problem patiently with a combination of politics, diplomacy and force as needed. We'd much rather have the Iraqi forces deal with problems such as this rather than U.S. forces.

MR. FAHMY: Okay, now, I understand that the United States is moving some troops from South Korea. Are we going to see additional increase of American troops in Iraq?

SECRETARY POWELL: No. The level that you now see is the level that the commanders desire to maintain for the foreseeable future -- about 138,000 troops. But in order to have 138,000 troops in Iraq, you have to get ready for their replacement, so we have pulled some troops -- will be pulling some troops out of Korea in order to make sure that we have enough troops to sustain that level of 138,000. I hope that as Iraqi forces are built up and become more capable, that number can start to go down.

The United States has no desire to keep our Army in Iraq beyond the point where Iraqis can protect themselves. But until we reach that point, we believe we have an obligation to keep a good size military force there.

MR. FAHMY: Okay, were you surprised that the interim -- the Governing Council immediately resolved power to the interim government, and are you going to wait until the 30th to pass over power to the new government, or it will be given to them gradually?

SECRETARY POWELL: I was aware that the Governing Council would dissolve itself and I think it was a correct move in order to clear the deck so you didn't have any confusion between the incoming interim government leaders and the old Governing Council.

Now, what we are working on is a resolution. It's that resolution that will give an endorsement from the international community. I hope we'll get that resolution in the near future. I can't tell you what day, but in the near future. And after that, we're still shooting from the time that resolution is passed until the 30th, when Ambassador Bremer will depart and the next day the country is under its own leadership again. But we wouldn't rule out something earlier if circumstances permit. But right now, we're looking at the 30th.

The new government needs time to get organized. It needs time to create relationships between the new leadership and the ministers, time to get out and talk to the people. And so we don't want it to assume too heavy a burden too soon.

MR. FAHMY: Prime Minister Sharon said he is going to change his plan, modify his plan, in order to get it passed by the cabinet. Do you have any idea what are those changes, and does Washington accept the notion of phased withdrawal over four phases?

SECRETARY POWELL: My understanding is that Prime Minister Sharon is sticking with his plan, and everything I've seen and heard in the last 24 hours suggests that he remains committed to the removal of the 21 settlements in Gaza and four settlements in the West Bank as the beginning of the process of getting back into the roadmap. That continues to be what we're supporting because that continues to be Prime Minister Sharon's plan. The details of phasing -- that, I think, remains to be seen, but his fundamental commitment to remove the 21 settlements in Gaza and the four in the West Bank as part of the beginning of a process. That is his position that he presented to President Bush when he was here, remains his position now, is the position we support.

MR. FAHMY: Now, I'd like to ask one more question about the G-8. Okay. There is a lot of people in the Arab world are concerned that imposing change from outside could backfire. Did Washington water down its proposal for reform in the Arab world to meet somewhere between what the Arab would like to do themselves and what the U.S. -- the United States would like to see?

SECRETARY POWELL: It was never our intention to try to impose reform on the Arab world. How could we do that? We are anxious to be partners with the Arab world, the nations of the Arab world, or the broader Middle East and North Africa, as we refer to it, because we believe there is a need for modernization, for reform, in the area. Many nations are going, you know, as full throttle as they can toward reform. We want to help them.

And so we want to enter into this relationship in the spirit of partnership, not in the spirit of telling you what to do. Each nation in the broader Middle East and North Africa region is on a different path with respect to social, political, economic development, the strength of their democracy, and each one has to pick its own path going into the future. And we want to help each of these nations that are committed to modernization and reform, as a friend, as a partner, not as an imposer of the reform.

MR. FAHMY: Mr. Secretary, thank you very much. I'd like to ask more, but I have waves outside there.

(Laughter.)

SECRETARY POWELL: I know.

MR. FAHMY: Mr. Secretary, thank you very much.

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you.

MR. FAHMY: I appreciate it.