Iraqi council starts work as WMD fallout dogs Bush

The milestone meeting Monday of the 25-member council was the first of a national executive body since US-led forces wrenched Saddam's Baath Party regime from power in April and was hailed as a historic day for Iraq.

"There are defining moments in history and for Iraq today is definitely one of those," UN special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello said.

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"Iraq is now back right where it belongs, at peace with itself and as a full member of the community of nations."

Delegates representing Iraq's tapestry of Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish, Turkmen and Christian communities met in its new headquarters, the former ministry for military industry.

The council's first decision was to enshrine April 9 -- the day US tanks rumbled into Baghdad to herald the end of Saddam's rule -- as a national holiday, and rescind all those marking Baath Party anniversaries.

The meeting coincided with a major operation by US forces to wipe out remnants of the ousted regime and others blamed for a string of attacks on coalition troops.

The council was to hit the ground running, Iyad Allawi, from the Iraqi National Accord Movement said, with meetings Monday to discuss council procedure.

Britain hailed the creation of the council as a major step on Iraq's road to democracy.

"This is a pivotal event for the people of Iraq. For the first time in decades Iraq will have an administration broadly representative of Iraq's diverse society," Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.

"The people of Iraq have taken a momentous step towards the goal of an Iraq run by Iraqis for Iraqis."

The creation of the council was also a major win for the United Nations and Viera de Mello, whose work helped put the world body in the thick of Iraqi politics.