US to convene meeting of Iraqi leaders

Retired US general Jay Garner, appointed by Washington to oversee the rebuilding of Iraq, was to convene a meeting of 300 to 400 leading Iraqi political, religious and ethnic figures in Baghdad on Monday in what his aides promised would be a broadly inclusive forum.

In a radio broadcast on Sunday, Garner sought to reassure Iraqis they would determine their own political destiny. "I will be here for just a short time, just to help get things going. This is your country and it's your future."

Barbara Bodine, Garner's coordinator for central Iraq, said pro-American Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress umbrella group, had been invited to the meeting along with the country's main Shi'ite Muslim group, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

Bodine said the Baghdad meeting would have 'more of an indigenous representation' than an April 15 meeting in Nasiriya. "It's going to be broader and broader representation as these sorts of meetings go on," she said.

A senior aide said the meeting would be used to identify potential leaders and discuss forming a government.