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U.S. dissolves Iraq's militaryAmerican troops seek to disarm Iraqis of weapons
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- In a move aimed at eliminating remnants of Iraq's former regime, U.S. authorities Friday dissolved the Iraqi Armed Forces, the ministries of defense and information and other security institutions that once supported Saddam Hussein's rule. An American senior coalition official said the move effectively disbands the Republican Guard and Revolutionary Command Council and cancels any military ranks or other designations conferred by the previous regime. It also puts an estimated 350,000 to 400,000 soldiers out of work, along with an estimated 2,000 Information Ministry employees. Military members who previously held the rank of colonel and higher will not be entitled to severance packages and cannot work for the new Iraqi government once it's established. Any soldier below the rank of colonel will be eligible to enlist in a new army. (Full story) In addition, coalition forces soon will implement an arms control program aimed at reducing the number of weapons on the streets in Iraq, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. David McKiernan said Friday. McKiernan, who led the ground war in Iraq, said the coalition will set up "designated locations" for Iraqis to hand over automatic and other heavy weapons. Iraqis, however, will be allowed to keep small arms for home protection, he said. "A detailed implementation plan is in the works," McKiernan said. "We're prepared to execute it soon after we receive the go-ahead." McKiernan said the measures also would prohibit concealed weapons and celebratory fire. U.S.: Truck may have goldSoldiers with the U.S. Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment seized what they believed to be a massive shipment of gold Friday near the Iraqi border with Syria, U.S. Central Command announced. (Full story) The troops discovered about 2,000 bars, weighing 40 pounds each, during a routine traffic stop, according to the U.S. military. The bars have not been tested to determine their contents but could be worth as much as $500 million -- depending on their karat weight and purity, Central Command said. The two people with the truck said they were paid $350 to pick up the vehicle in Baghdad and drive it to the Iraqi town of Qaim near the Syrian border, along a known smuggling route. The men said they were told the bars were bronze, the Central Command statement said. Coalition forces have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars, believed to have been taken by members of Saddam's regime before the start of the war. Franks to retireU.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced Thursday that Gen. Tommy Franks, head of the U.S. Central Command, will retire from active duty this summer. In a statement, Rumsfeld said Franks would step down from Central Command in the next few weeks and end his military career later this summer. "He has served our country with great distinction," Rumsfeld's statement said of Franks, who commanded the U.S.-led coalition in the Iraq war and led the military campaign in Afghanistan. Franks turned down an offer to become the Army's chief of staff -- the Army's highest post. (Full story) Other developments
• The U.N. Security Council voted Thursday to lift sanctions against Iraq after almost 13 years and to give the United States and Great Britain authority to control the country until an elected government is in place. Resolution 1483 passed by a 14-0 vote, with no abstentions. Syria's ambassador to the United Nations was not present and did not participate in the vote. (Full story) • Central Command said Thursday that Aziz Sajih Al-Numan -- the king of diamonds in the U.S. deck of most-wanted Iraqis -- was captured Wednesday near Baghdad. Al-Numan was the Baath Party regional command chairman responsible for West Baghdad and the former governor of Karbala and Najaf. He is the highest-ranking former leader in coalition custody. (Gallery: Most-wanted in Iraq; Flash gallery: Most-wanted) • CIA Director George Tenet has begun a review of the intelligence community's assessments of Iraq before the war to determine if the information was accurate. A senior U.S. intelligence official said that the review began a few weeks ago, with four retired intelligence analysts conducting it. • L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civil administrator in Iraq, on Thursday toured a mass grave south of Baghdad, where 3,100 bodies have been excavated -- most believed to have been Shiite Muslims killed in 1991 after a failed uprising against Saddam. Local doctors said 2,000 of the bodies recovered in Hillah have been identified. Those that have not been identified were wrapped in white shrouds and will be reburied facing the holy city of Mecca, according to Muslim tradition. • U.S. intelligence analysis of two suspected mobile laboratories found in Iraq has determined they were "certainly designed and constructed for" biological weapons, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said. He added they have been cleaned to the point that "you can't find actual germs on them." (Full story) CNN Correspondents Jane Arraf, Michael Okwu, Karl Penhaul and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
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