United Nations, Aug 22: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said that an effective military operation in Iraq could only be maintained under us command, given the large number of US soldiers taking part. "There has to be coordinated command," Straw told reporters at the United Nations yesterday, where the Security Council was discussing measures -- including possibly a new UN resolution -- for improving the security situation in Iraq. "If you think about the numbers of troops the United States has compared to any other country, it means that if you want there to be an effective military operation ... Then the command has to be through the United States," Straw said. Straw, who was in New York to prepare for Britain's accession to the rotating security council presidency, said he had spoken earlier in the day with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and would meet with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on this morning. Powell had held out the possibility of a new UN resolution as part of us efforts to spur member nations into sending more troops to help out the us-led coalition forces in Iraq.
A number of countries, including France, Germany and India, have said they would not commit troops to the stabilisation force without a broader UN mandate and have also made it clear their forces would not operate under US command.

Bureau Report