UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The Bush administration has released its draft proposal to the United Nations seeking a multinational force in Iraq, the New York Times reported Thursday.
The proposed draft would invite the Iraqi Governing Council to develop a timetable for drafting a constitution and holding elections, ideally leading to the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty and the withdrawal of all U.S. and other foreign forces.
Even as the draft was circulated, both the White House and Secretary of State Colin Powell stressed the United States Central Command would maintain full military authority. Several Security Council members, including France and Russia, have said repeatedly they would not support a measure that allowed the United States to maintain full military and political control.
Administration officials have also said they expected to ask Congress for an additional spending request of between $60 billion and $80 billion in the next fiscal year to pay for the reconstruction and some of the military occupation of Iraq.
