The retired U.S. general charged with supervising Iraq's reconstruction was to travel to Baghdad on Monday as the debate intensified over what role Washington should play in post-war Iraq. It was not clear whether retired U.S. general Jay Garner would meet with Iraqi National Congress (INC) head Ahmad Chalabi, a pro-Washington politician widely thought to be Washington's candidate to lead Iraq.

Chalabi told ABC television's "This Week" program on Sunday U.S. forces should stay in Iraq until it holds elections.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana took a swipe at the United States in a newspaper interview on Sunday, saying it should use its clout to form consensus among its allies rather than impose its will by force. Solana also renewed calls for a major U.N. role in Iraq.

The United States, snubbed by the U.N. Security Council when it sought approval to invade Iraq, has acknowledged the U.N. has a role to play. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told the Al Khaleej and Gulf Today newspapers that the United States would "work together with the U.N. to figure out what the appropriate role is."

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Retired Army Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Post-war Iraq. Garner is due to arrive in Iraq on Monday. (AFP/HO/D. Ward)