United States takes custody of Tariq Aziz

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister
Tariq Aziz

By United Press International

Former Iraq Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz is in the custody of American forces, US Central Command said.
Centcom, in Doha, Qatar, said in a brief statement Aziz was under "coalition control," but gave no further details.
Aziz is number 43 on a most-wanted list of 55 senior Iraqi officials sought by coalition forces. Aziz is the eight of spades in a deck of 55 cards representing Iraq officials.

He was one of the best-known figures in the regime of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and often appeared on television as the international face of Saddam's government.

His arrest brings to 12 the number of prominent Iraqis already in custody.

As coalition forces continued their search for former Iraqi officials, President George W. Bush said the US-led occupation of Iraq could last two years, and speculated that Saddam may have been killed in the surprise air strikes that started the war.

"The people will wonder if Saddam Hussein is dead or not ... there's some evidence that suggests he might be," Bush told NBC News. "We're trying to, of course, verify it before there's any declaration."

Bush said that the agent in Baghad who pinpointed a compound where the Iraqi leader was meeting with top officials "felt like we got Saddam" in the 19 April attack.

"The person that helped direct the attacks believes that Saddam at very minimum was severely wounded," the president said.

In his first interview since the war began, Bush said the task of putting Iraqis in charge of their own country might take two years.

"It could be more or less ... who knows," he said. "But the point we're making is that the foundation for democracy is now being laid."

Bush also said that French President Jacques Chirac wouldn't soon be welcome to visit his Texas ranch even if bilateral tensions over Iraq are eventually settled.

"I doubt he'll be coming to the ranch any time soon," Bush told NBC. "There are some strains in the relationship, obviously, because it appeared to some in our administration and our country that the French position was anti-American."

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council Thursday unanimously extended Secretary-General Kofi Annan's authority to run the Iraq oil-for-food humanitarian program until the current phase ends 3 June, giving diplomats time to determine the plan's post-conflict configuration.

Annan, citing "current developments" including Iraq, decided to cut short a European visit by five days and return to headquarters in New York later Thursday, a spokesman said.

Iraq was allowed under the program to use a portion of its oil revenues to buy relief supplies and food, the only source of sustenance for 60 percent of the nation's 27 million population, to ease hardships imposed by sanctions begun in 1990. It was temporarily halted 17 March on the eve of the US-led bombing campaign when all UN international staff members were ordered out of Iraq.

The Security Council adopted a resolution 28 March giving Annan further authority to administer the operation for 45 days, until 12 May, and allow for prioritizing deliveries and finding new entry ports to speed shipments.

However, the oil-for-food program's current six-month phase doesn't expire until 3 June so there was a gap and a wrangle over the future of the UN role in Iraq.

Benon Sevan, executive director of the UN Office of the Iraq Program, which oversees the program, told the council Tuesday that 11 of the 45 days were lost while procedures were being approved, resulting in a limited number of contracts being processed, only $454.6 million worth of contracts out of about $10 billion.

Thursday's technical rollover extends Annan's increased power to coincide with the end of the mandate of the current phase of the original oil-for-food program.

Ambassador John Negroponte of the United States explained that Washington supported the measure that allowed the plan to resume operation in order "to keep the flow of humanitarian items to Iraq moving.

"At this time, we think that it makes sense to make a technical adjustment to the resolution to extend the Secretary-General's authority to 3 June," he said. "This extension will enable the secretariat to better plan for the delivery of humanitarian goods in support of the Iraqi people."

In other developments:
The Washington Post reported Friday that Bush administration advisers on Wednesday adopted the Pentagon's proposal for eliminating all UN controls over Iraq, rather than the State Department's preferred step-by-step approach. The World Bank or the International Monetary Fund would monitor distributions. But the Post said the Iraqi Central Bank would be in charge of profits from oil, some of which would be spent on reconstruction designated by the Pentagon-run Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance or by the Iraqi Interim Authority.

The Greens are calling on the federal government to test soldiers returning from Iraq for depleted uranium contamination. Greens Sen. Kerry Nettle told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. the tests are the least the government can do. "We're currently unsure about the impact of depleted uranium, but there are ongoing concerns in the community and this is a way they can help alleviate that concern," he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi announced his country's indignation at reports that Washington had reached a ceasefire with the Iraq-based Iranian armed opposition group, the Mujahedeen Khalq Organization, the official Islamic Republic News agency reported. "If true, it (an agreement) will increase our pessimism and qualms towards America," Kharrazi said, adding, "MKO is a terrorist group and America has put its name among terrorist groups." The US Central Command did use the words "negotiation" and "ceasefire" when speaking of US troops and the MKO.

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