IRAQ: The fractious groups of the Iraqi opposition opened their first formal meeting on home soil yesterday by issuing a sharp rebuke to Washington over plans to install an American governor to rule the country following the removal of President Saddam Hussein.
Meeting in the mountain hamlet of Salahuddin, 300 km south of the Iraq-Turkey border, representatives of groups hoping for a stake in the future peace of their country also warned Turkey against sending troops into northern Iraq once a much-expected military operation against the Saddam regime has begun.
"We want Iraqi sovereignty over Iraqi soil, and in the absence of this there will be chaos," said Ahmad Chalabi, who heads the Iraqi National Congress which has strong financial and political backing from Washington.
In his opening speech to the much-delayed conference, Mr Chalabi said: "We seek in this conference to declare our support for Iraqi sovereignty, and we say to the United States that you are our friends and allies, but also that we fought Saddam Hussein before you knew of him."
His warning of unrest and violence should the Americans prolong their stay in Iraq was amplified by other delegates to the conference, which is taking place over two days at the headquarters of the Kurdish Democratic Party, one of the major participants in the opposition that is seeking to assert its leadership credentials.
The conference has been delayed for more than a month by disagreements among the 65 delegates who were elected at a conference in London to represent the interests of more than 20 exiled opposition groups.
The 55 delegates attending the Salahuddin meeting are joined by observers from Washington and Iran. A KDP official said that Turkey had failed to send observers despite an invitation to do so.
Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was even more blunt in his message for Washington, which is represented here by President Bush's personal envoy, Mr Zalmay Khalilzad.
"We affirm our rejection of occupation, hegemony and domination," Mr al-Hakim said.
Mr Khalilzad arrived in Salahuddin from Turkey on Tuesday with a personal detail of US soldiers who added their presence to the bristling security in Salahuddin. Kalashnikov-toting KDP militiamen in fatigues and with red-and-white scarves wrapped around their heads patrolled the hillside highways leading into the tiny town and the tarmac roads around KDP headquarters.
A large red and white banner hung on the fence of the KDP stronghold spelled out the party's credo - "KDP: Together for building a democratic, pluralistic, federal and united Iraq."
Mr Khalilzad sought to reassure opposition members about Washington's plans for a post-Saddam era, but he also hinted at the doubts that many observers believe the Bush administration harbours about the opposition's suitability as a ruling force.
"The United States has no desire, no desire, to govern Iraq. The Iraqi people should govern their own affairs as soon as possible," Mr Khalilzad said.
"Along with the great respect that we have for our friends in the Iraqi opposition, we also have a great respect and sympathy for the many Iraqis who have been suffering inside the country under the Saddam Hussein regime."
Diplomats point out the lack of credibility that the opposition groups have among Iraqi people, largely because they have not lived or operated in Iraq for many years.
More importantly, said a Western diplomat, "no one has any idea of what will emerge in Iraq once Saddam has gone, as the voice of people living under Saddam has had no opportunity to emerge, let alone be heard."
The prospect of Turkish troops crossing into northern Iraq has galvinised the Kurdish people of the region who suspect that Ankara intends to take control of nearby oil-producing centres Mosul and Kirkuk. Turkey is concerned that the chaos of war could present an opportunity for latent separatist claims to emerge among Kurdish groups and possibly lead to civil strife that spills over the borders into its predominantly Kurdish southeastern regions.