BAGHDAD, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- The Iraqi interim Governing Council has urged the United States to give them sovereign control of their country as soon as possible, a report said Thursday.
The council has blamed the current lawlessness in the country on its exclusion from key post-war security decisions, ChannelNewsAsia reported Thursday.
Ahmad Chalabi, the current council president, says greater sovereign control will help put an end to the violence which has crippled reconstruction efforts.
Chalabi said the 25-member body has passed draft legislation on trade, citizenship and investment, which, he says, is proof enough that Iraqis can run their own country.
These comments came as a new audio tape attributed to Saddam Hussein was broadcast on the Arabic news network, al-Arabiya, calling for a withdrawal of coalition forces.
