An opinion poll conducted in northern Iraq has found that the overwhelming majority of people in the region want the US military commander, Gen Tommy Franks, to run the country after a war to remove President Saddam Hussein, rather than one of their own leaders, Lynne O'Donnell reports from Tehran
The results of the poll, which was conducted last week in four cities of northern Iraq, present a stark contrast to the denunciations issued by leaders of the Iraqi opposition of Washington's plans to maintain a military presence in the country if President Saddam is toppled from power.
They also confirm the low esteem in which leaders of the Iraqi opposition are held by the predominantly Kurdish people who live in the north, outside the control of President Saddam's Baathist government.
Asked who they supported "to become the ruler of Iraq, in the transitional period, until parliamentary elections", 61.88 per cent of respondents nominated Gen Franks. Only 8.98 per cent nominated Dr Ahmed Chalabi, an articulate former banker and now the leader of the Iraqi National Congress, one of the parties to the disparate Iraqi opposition. The remainder of the 913 people polled, 29.14 per cent, had no opinion.
Dr Chalabi, whose murky background is filled with rumours of unpaid bills, large debts and lawsuits, has severely criticised reported US plans to appoint a military governor to run Iraq for at least two years following any war.
An Arab, he has no political base in northern Iraq, which is controlled by two major Kurdish groups, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdish Democratic Party. His prominence in the opposition comes courtesy of long-term US patronage.
"Chalabi is seen as a man of no morals, America's man but only because they gave him money," a Kurdish official said yesterday.
"There is fear among the people that with Chalabi in control, he would be unable to keep the peace among the different [ethnic and religious\] groups in Iraq, whereas the Americans would be able to keep them apart from each other in favour of overall stability immediately following a war," he said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that once the Saddam regime began to crumble, local backers of Chalabi were likely to withdraw their support in favour of leaders with a realistic chance of power.
The results of last week's poll were published in Saturday's Arabic language Al Ahali, in the main city of the north, Erbil. The poll was conducted by the Iraq Institute for Democracy, which regularly canvasses opinion among the estimated five million people living in the autonomous region on post-war leadership issues and views on the self-proclaimed Iraqi opposition.
Under American and British military protection, the northern sector of Iraq has developed into an effectively independent region where international aid organisations have helped nurture the growth of liberal and democratic institutions.
The pattern that has emerged from polls conducted by the institute suggests deep dissatisfaction with the opposition leadership that has emerged since a major conference of exiles was held in London last December.
Contrary to the wishes expressed by the opposition leaders, the polls also indicate a strong preference among the northern Iraqi population for US stewardship in a post-war period leading up to general elections, at which all Iraqis would be able to choose who would lead their country, and how.
This latest poll comes just weeks after most of the 65 delegates elected at the London conference met near Erbil.