Bush pushes for civilian administrator to run Iraq

A civilian administrator appointed by the United Nations could be installed to oversee the running of Iraq in the aftermath of a military operation to oust President Saddam Hussein, according to the latest US plan.

While the proposals call for a heavy military presence led by a senior American general for at least 18 months after any invasion, the Bush administration has apparently accepted the need to establish democratic institutions inside Iraq as quickly as possible. With that in mind, planners envisage a civilian administrator working alongside, and with equal authority to, the military commander.

"The last thing we need is someone walking around with a corncob pipe telling the Iraqis how to form a government," said one senior Bush administration official, in a reference to the imposition of General Douglas MacArthur in post-war Japan.

The classified plans being finalised by the White House and the National Security Council also emphasise the limited use of courts to try only those Iraqis who held senior positions in President Saddam's regime. An effort would be made to keep and reform many elements of the government rather than scrapping them.

These elements of the government would help the civilian administrator to oversee the running of schools, the public health infrastructure and the economy. The administrator would also have responsibility for ensuring Iraq's oil continued to flow.

The plans are the product of a series of working groups set up by the US State Department's Near-East Division to prepare for the reorganisation of Iraq under the title of the "Future of Iraq Project".

This has led to the establishment of more than 15 working groups looking at issues ranging from a transitional justice system, energy supplies and public health to public finance. Last November, The Independent revealed America was secretly training Iraqi civil servants to prepare for the transformation of Iraq into a market economy.

"We have to consider the administration of Iraq from the very day after any military operation," a State Department spokesman said.