Adnan Pachachi, a former Iraqi foreign minister who is now a member of Iraq's governing council leadership committee said that he foresaw the drafting of a constitution in the near future. 'Things are coming together,' Pachachi said. 'It's a matter of finding the right words.' (MEED 23:9:03)

The US has come under a lot of pressure, especially from France, in recent weeks to hand over power to Iraqis. French President Chirac in late September said that his country would only support a US-drafted UN resolution on Iraq if it included a timeline for full political hand over (MEED 22:9:03).

In a speech to the UN Security Council on 25 September UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that the needs of the Iraqi people and not an arbitrary timetable must govern when power is handed over in Iraq. Straw sought to draw a line under the rift that had divided the UN prior to the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, saying he hoped the international community could agree on a resolution on the future government in Iraq. 'Whatever the arguments of the spring, we have to come together for a common purpose,' he said.