US may delay Iraq power handover

[Whoa_Nelly]

The United States has hinted it might put off the planned deadline for transferring power in Iraq if the United Nations recommends a delay.

Officials on Wednesday said Washington had every intention of adhering to the 30 June handover agreed by the US-led occupation and the Iraqi interim leadership but added there was "room" for the date to be put off if the UN desired

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UN chief Kofi Annan said on Tuesday he would soon be sending a team of experts to Iraq in a bid to resolve the increasingly contentious dispute over how power should be transferred.

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But the plan has triggered strong protests from Iraq's majority Shia community, which is demanding direct national elections.

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http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/039B5067-4421-4C18-AD83-71A57B757106.htm