Allawi Nominated As Transitional Iraqi PM May 28, 9:38 AM (ET) By HAMZA HENDAWI BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The Iraqi Governing Council on Friday nominated one of its own members, Iyad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim physician who spent years in exile, to become prime minister of the new government to take power June 30, members said. ... The governing council nominating one of its own ex-exile members. Hmmm. I bet the average Iraqi in the street must be thrilled.
No Worries I believe they also did it without Brahimi or US consent! Interesting to see how this will play out...
full article ... Allawi Nominated As Transitional Iraqi PM May 28, 9:38 AM (ET) By HAMZA HENDAWI (AP) Iraq's interim Defence Minister Ali Allawi at a press conference with his British counterpart Geoff... Full Image BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The Iraqi Governing Council on Friday nominated one of its own members, Iyad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim physician who spent years in exile, to become prime minister of the new government to take power June 30, members said. The chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, was at Friday's council session and congratulated Allawi on his nomination, said Mustafa al-Marayati, an aide to council member Raja Habib al-Khuzaai. The council also planned to nominate a president and two vice presidents. But it was not known whether U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has approved the choices. Brahimi has been leading the process for drawing up the new government, which also includes 26 Cabinet ministers. The final lineup is scheduled to be announced by Monday. "The whole process is based on guidelines and recommendations made by" Brahimi, said al-Marayati. Allawi was endorsed unanimously by the 25-member council, council member Mahmoud Othman said. Allawi was formerly secretary-general of the Iraq National Accord, an opposition group made up in part by former military officers who had defected from Saddam Hussein's regime. Faced with ongoing violence in Iraq, the council members chose Allawi because they believe the military experience within his party puts him in the best position to cope with the security crisis, according to his aide, Ibrahim al-Janabi. His cousin, Ali Allawi, is Iraqi defense minister. Allawi was also rumored to be close to the CIA during his years in the Iraqi opposition movement, which date back to the 1970s. During his years in exile, Allawi was the little-known favorite of CIA officers wary of dealing with the flashier, better-known exile leader Ahmad Chalabi. Chalabi, popular among the architects of the Iraq invasion at the Pentagon, has fallen out of favor in recent months after his information about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction was discredited. While living in London in 1978, Allawi survived an assassination attempt believed to have been ordered by Saddam. His Iraqi National Accord group advocated a coup against Saddam but an attempt in 1996 failed. Afterward, Allawi continued to enjoy strong Western support, including within the State Department and Britain's MI-6 intelligence service.
