Baghdad, Oct 22: Iraq's governing council hopes the Madrid Donors' Conference this week will strengthen its cash-strapped institutions and make the young body an equal partner with the Americans. Since the interim council was formed on July 13, members say they have found themselves on the short end of the stick with the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).
In turn, the CPA has been frustrated by the council's plodding decision-making style -- taking nearly two months to assemble a cabinet and as of yet failing to take a decision on how to draft the country's constitution.
"They complain we are slow, but we've told them about things they didn't act on until it was too late," says council member Nasir Chaderchi, referring to alarm raised by the council early on about foreign fighters slipping into Iraq.
Despite the griping, both sides agree the interim body, created in the void of post-Saddam Iraq, is evolving into a real force.
"Now the wheels are turning," adds Chaderchi.
Crucial to this has been the naming of the ministers and the forming of council sub-committees on key topics including security and finance.
Adnan Assadi, the deputy to council member Ibrahim Jaffari, describes the current phase as transitional.
"Right now, the Americans are controlling everything but the ministers are getting back their role in the country," Assadi says. Bureau Report