U.S. explores changes in Iraq transition plan

The Bush administration has produced a list of possible changes for Iraq's political transition, with some U.S. and British officials acknowledging for the first time that the original plan could even be scrapped altogether if the United States is to pre-empt the growing clamor for elections.

In two rounds of talks at the United Nations and Washington last week, the United States told U.N. representatives that everything is on the table except the June 30 deadline for handing over power to a new Iraqi government, U.N. and U.S. officials said.

"The United States told us that as long as the timetable is respected, they are ready to listen to any suggestion," a senior U.N. official said.

The United States is publicly talking tough about clinging to a "refined" variation of the Nov. 15 accord signed with the Iraqi Governing Council that outlines the terms of a handover. The changes could include expanding participation in 18 streamlined caucuses to select representatives for a national assembly, which would then pick a cabinet and head of state, U.S. officials say.

But in private conversations with the United Nations and its coalition partners, the administration has begun to discuss abandoning the complex caucuses outlined in the agreement and even holding partial elections or simply handing over power to an expanded Iraqi Governing Council, an old proposal now back on the table, U.S. and U.N. officials say.

The administration insists there is no sense of panic, despite the mounting opposition to the current U.S. transition plan.

Contributing: Mike Allen.

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