U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday he had assured the United States and Britain that he would deploy a small team of U.N. personnel to Iraq before a national conference is held. Annan met with Ambassadors John Danforth of the United States and Emyr Jones Parry of Britain to discuss developments in Iraq where the U.S. and Britain are leading a multinational force. Annan said the two ambassadors wanted to know plans for a U.N. deployment to Iraq. "I assured them that I'll deploy a small team to Iraq before the national conference," Annan told reporters. The Iraqi national conference is scheduled to meet in the fall to discuss national reconciliation and to support the political transition being headed by the interim government in Baghdad. The U.N. is expected to assist Baghdad in organizing elections in January for a provisional government and legislative body. The provisional government will lead the drafting of a new constitution for Iraq. General elections are to be held at end of 2005 for a full- fledged government.
