http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/21/world/the-reach-of-war-security-iraq-government-considers-using-emergency-rule.html

June 21, 2004

Iraq Government Considers Using Emergency Rule

By DEXTER FILKINS and SOMINI SENGUPTA

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 20 -- Faced with violent resistance even before it has assumed power, Iraq's newly appointed government is considering imposing a state of emergency that could involve curfews and a ban on public demonstrations, Iraqi officials said Sunday.

In his first news briefing here, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi offered no details of what emergency rule might include, only that a committee of cabinet members had been appointed to consider the issue.

Dr. Allawi, who worked closely with the Central Intelligence Agency in opposing Saddam Hussein's government in the 1990's, said he would consider "human rights principles and international law," but made clear that he intended to act quickly and forcefully against the insurgency, using extraordinary methods if necessary.

"We will do all we can to strike against enemy forces aiming at harming our country, and we will not stand by with our hands tied," Dr. Allawi said. "The Iraqi people are determined to establish a democratic government that provides freedom and equal rights for all its citizens. We are prepared to fight and, if necessary, die for the cause."

Among the places where such measures could be applied include the city of Falluja, where United States forces have been battling guerrilla fighters for several weeks, and Sadr City, the restive eastern slum in Baghdad, where three Iraqis were killed Sunday in confrontations with the First Infantry Division.

Among the emergency rule provisions being considered are a curfew, a ban on public demonstrations, checkpoints to control public movement and changes to search and seizure laws, two cabinet members said in separate interviews on Sunday evening.

It remains unclear whether such measures would bring significant changes in the lives of ordinary Iraqis. Under the United States-led occupation, occupation and Iraqi soldiers and security forces have been allowed to conduct raids without warrants, make arrests without charges, and hold suspects in detention indefinitely.

If some sort of emergency rule is imposed, it is possible that this situation could persist. Iraq's new leaders have yet to work out the exact nature of their cooperation with the American military in the coming months, particularly on such issues as offensive operations and house-to-house searches.

However, Iraqi officials have often criticized American forces for the way they have conducted themselves here over the past 15 months. A frequent complaint of Iraqi leaders is that the Americans often alienate ordinary Iraqis by searching the wrong homes and detaining the wrong people.

The Iraqi leaders have said they know far better who the insurgents are. The restoration of sovereignty here on June 30 may give those leaders an opportunity to take the counterinsurgency in another direction.

Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, said the potential measures were prompted by a tide of attacks by "global terrorists" as well as Hussein loyalists who, as he put it, "will not let the country go through the transitional process towards democracy peacefully."

"They will try to derail the political process," Mr. Rubaie said. "It is our responsibility to protect our people from these terrorists. If you bear all this in mind, then some sort of exceptional rules, if you like, need to be adopted to deal with the exceptional circumstances."

Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said he hoped that if emergency rule were imposed, it would happen only in particularly fractious areas and for no more than two to three weeks at a time. He also hinted at the delicate political balance that the interim government must strike, between winning the confidence of ordinary Iraqis and crushing what has already proven to be a powerful armed resistance.

"We have disturbances in the whole country, but many areas could be controlled very easily, and others will be a little more difficult," Mr. Naqib said. "But also we have to work politically with many groups. We don't want to use force very much. If we have to use it with certain terrorists like Al Qaeda or anyone else, then we will not hesitate to use it."

Neither he nor other officials would say when a decision would be made about emergency rule.

The head of the Iraqi bar association, Kamal Hamdoon Mulla Allaw, said he hoped that such measures would be imposed only for a short period. Hamza al-Kafi, of the Iraqi Human Rights Society, said he too hoped that any such measures would be limited in scope and time and that they would not be used for political advantage.

As the transfer of sovereignty approaches, insurgents have stepped up attacks on interim government officials and security forces.

On Sunday morning, the interior minister's house in Samarra was attacked and four bodyguards were killed. Last Thursday, a car bomb ripped through an army recruitment center in Baghdad, killing at least 41 people. Dozens of local officials and many senior members of the government in Baghdad have been assassinated.

Prime Minister Allawi also announced a significant expansion of the Iraqi Army and its rededication toward internal threats. The army, which currently has about 3,000 soldiers, would take control of more than 37,500 troops who make up the existing Iraqi Civil Defense Corps as part of a new National Guard.

Together with the new Iraqi antiterrorism force now being trained here, the armed forces available to combat insurgents could total more than 60,000 soldiers.

The decision to use the army against the insurgency represents a change to American policy, which had intended the force to be directed against foreign threats and, most important, to be small. American policy makers had wanted to ensure that the Iraqi Army, which has played a significant role in shaping the country's political history, could be kept out of domestic politics.

Dr. Allawi acknowledged that concern but said the extraordinary circumstances presented by the insurgency demanded a special response. He said that for the "foreseeable future," the army would be fighting insurgents, rather than guarding borders.

"Our army's priority will continue to be national defense," he said. "However, in these difficult times, substantial elements of the army will have to assist in the struggle against internal threats against national security."

The reconstitution of the army amounts to another step away from the American decision of spring 2003 to dissolve the Iraqi Army. That decision has been roundly criticized, by Dr. Allawi and others, as having contributed to the insurgency by pushing thousands of young men with military training into unemployment.

In response to that criticism, American officials announced last month that they would begin rehiring higher-level army officers who had earlier been banned from serving in the armed forces.

"Disbanding the Iraqi Army was a big mistake," Dr. Allawi said. "We are fixing the mistakes of the Americans, aren't we?"

Together, redirecting the army toward internal threats and possibly imposing emergency rule illustrated the grim choices Dr. Allawi and his cabinet feel they have to make in their early days in office.

Dr. Allawi said the United States had agreed "in principle" to transfer custody of Iraqis suspected of involvement in the insurgency and for criminal acts to the Iraqi government after June 30.

He offered a vigorous vision of combating the guerrilla insurgency, which he said was "systematically destroying the country."

"The enemy we are fighting is truly evil," he said. "They have nothing to offer the Iraqi people except death and destruction."

He appealed to foreign countries to help protect the United Nations staff members who would be working in the country to prepare for elections later this year or early next.

Meanwhile, Moktada al-Sadr, the young Shiite cleric who led an uprising against the American occupation, has been invited to attend a national conference that will select a quasi-legislature to advise the interim government, Agence France-Press reported Sunday.

The invitation appears to be part of a broader effort to bring Mr. Sadr into the political mainstream. His insurgent force, the Mahdi Army, took heavy losses from American forces over the past three months, but Mr. Sadr soared in popularity, according to recent opinion polls.

The council that will be selected during the national conference will have a wide array of powers, including authority to approve the national budget and to question ministers.