While Ghazi al-Yawar criticizes the american military presence in the country of which he's just been selected president, the selection process was contentious and seems to illustrate the power struggle taking place over the state's future.

Late Monday, several members of the governing council said they would continue to hold out for Mr. Yawar, the group's choice



That raised the prospect of an ugly public battle between Mr. Bremer and Mr. Brahimi and the Iraqis on the council. And it suggested the possibility that Mr. Bremer, if he had an interim government in place, might move to dissolve the council himself.



Indeed, the senior administration official said there were expectations that the governing council, an American-appointed board that was created last summer, would dissolve itself shortly after the new government is selected.



"What Bremer and Brahimi are doing is very bad," said Mahmood Othman, a governing council member who was excluded from the negotiations on Monday. "They don't believe in democracy."

And these are the people that the U.S. appointed



Meanwhile,