Amsterdam conference discussed formation of an Iraqi government

Sources in the Iraqi opposition unveiled that the representatives of the 6 opposition parties who met with officials in the US administration by the beginning of this August agreed with them to elect an opposition Iraqi government in the opposition conference due to be held in Amsterdam in September.

Also a source in the opposition said that the parties which will take part in the conference received the consent of the Dutch government to convene the conference in Amsterdam, considering that the conference will be a sort of an "American test for the opposition to explore its ability into forming a united leadership."

It is expected that the chairman of the Iraqi national council, Ahmad al-Jalabi, to be the most likely to preside over this government.

However, another source in the opposition said other figures will be nominated for this post including the chairman of the Iraqi al-Wifaq ( reconciliation) movement, Eyad al-Allawi, and the chairman of the higher council for the Islamic revolution in Iraq, Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim.

The source indicated that it is expected that the conference will reach a settlement, on the ground of which, a coalition leadership for the opposition government will be formed.

Moreover, sources in the Iraqi opposition said that the chairman of the Iraqi National Congress in London, Ahmad al-Jalabi, and al-Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein, support a plenary conference similar to that held in 1991 in Salah Eddine city in Iraq which was attended by 350 representatives for various Iraqi communities and Kurdish groups, respectively.