HIGHLIGHTS: Iraqi Opposition Groups Capitalise on US Commitment to Depose Saddam||Arabs Oppose Military Action Against Iraq||U.S. Rules Out Kurdish State in Iraq|| STORY: Exiled Iraqi army officers have elected a military council to work towards overthrowing President Saddam Hussein and establishing civilian rule. (Read photo caption)

The council will encourage defections within the Iraqi army and also ensure that a democratic government takes control when the current regime is ousted, said the group's spokesman, Major General Tawfiq al-Yassiri.

The election of the council came at the end of a three-day meeting in London, which also included Iraqi political and religious representatives.

Similar meetings are being held in other capital cities as Iraqi opposition groups capitalise on US President George W Bush's commitment to depose Saddam Hussein.

FACTIONS REPRESENTED

Major al-Yassiri - a naval officer who was wounded in an uprising in southern Iraq in 1991 - said that all Iraq's ethnic and religious groups were included in the new council.

"We made sure that the military council will represent all the different factions which are present in the Iraqi army," he said.

Major al-Yassiri said officials from the US State Department, the White House and the Pentagon had attended the first day of the conference and welcomed any support from what he called international "friends" of the Iraqi people.

He said that disaffection in the Iraqi army is increasing and defections would play a part in removing Saddam from office.
"We believe that the process of change will take place from inside and the Iraqi army will have a major role."

Major al-Yassiri, who fled to Saudi Arabia and now lives in London, is an ally of Dr Ahmad Chalabi, the head of the Iraqi National Congress umbrella group which supported the meeting.

Other members of the military council include Major General Najib al-Salhi, who led a mechanised division of the army, and Major General Saad Obeidi, who was in charge of psychological warfare under Saddam's rule before defecting in 1986.

Major Salhi told Reuters news agency that the US must declare it is only after Saddam Hussein and not his troops, otherwise it would not have support of the Iraqi people or the army.

U.S. PRESSURE

President Bush vowed last week to use "all tools" to oust Saddam Hussein, whom he accuses of trying to build weapons of mass destruction.

Speculation has been mounting that America has plans to strike Iraq after its refusal to allow UN weapons inspectors back into the country.

ARABS OPPOSE ANY MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAQ

However, a military campaign against Iraq is not supported by other nations in the region.

Jordan, which has denied Arab and Western media reports suggesting it would let U.S. troops use its air bases if America attacks Iraq, distanced itself from the gathering, saying surprise participation by prince Al-Hassan in the meeting was an "individual act."

Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa on a visit to Amman on Sunday said that the Arab League opposes any military action against any Arab country including Iraq.

U.S. SEEKS TO EASE TURKISH CONCERNS OVER REGIME CHANGE IN IRAQ

In Turkey for talks on the struggle against terrorism and the rebuilding of Afghanistan, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Sunday that Turkey would benefit from a regime change in Baghdad.

Wolfowitz, speaking at a conference in Istanbul, said Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime "presents a danger we cannot live with indefinitely." He said the United States recognized Turkish concerns over a possible U.S.-led attack on Iraq, but claimed that Turkey had much to gain, politically and economically, from Saddam's departure.

US RULES OUT KURDISH STATE

Turkey fears that Kurds in the north of Iraq, who already enjoy a high degree of autonomy, could break away from a post-Saddam Iraq to form a separate state. That could boost calls for autonomy from Turkey's own Kurds.

"A separate Kurdish state in the north would be destabilizing to Turkey and would be unacceptable to the United States," Wolfowitz said, adding that Kurds in northern Iraq "increasingly seem to understand this fact."

PHOTO CAPTION

Sheik Haytham al-Sahlani (2L) and Brigadier Najib al-Salihi (2R) attend the Iraqi National Congress meeting convened in London to discuss the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein, July 12, 2002. Iraqi military officers once loyal to President Saddam Hussein met in London on Friday to discuss the formidable tasks of overthrowing him and ensuring an orderly transition to democratic, civilian rule. (Peter MacDiarmid/Reuters)