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Iraqis Take Step Toward Interim Government

Monday, April 28, 2003
(8:58 PM ET) (00:58 GMT)
Cable News Network correspondents Chris Burns, Kyra Phillips, Jane Arraf, Dana Bash, Jill Dougherty, David Ensor, John King, Nic Robertson and Barbara Starr, and producer Terry Frieden, contributed to this report

With Saddam Hussein out of power, Bush promised to help "defeat the dictator's legacy" -- though he warned "the work of building a new Iraq will take time."

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- CNN
As President Bush prepares to declare the combat phase of the Iraq war over, a group of disparate Iraqi factions took a critical step Monday toward building a new political structure.

The several hundred delegates, including Shiites, Sunnis, Arab tribal chiefs, urban professionals and numerous exiles attending the U.S.-led meeting in Baghdad agreed to reconvene within a month and select a transitional government.

Many made clear their desire for U.S. troops to ensure that Iraq is run by Iraqis, not by a U.S. puppet government.

In Michigan, Bush vowed that the United States will help Iraqis create a democratic society.

* U.S. officials: Aziz says he saw Saddam alive
* Other developments
(More: CNN.com)
2003 © Cable News Network LP, LLLP.

Dan