Western officials working o­n the reconstruction of Iraq agreed that an interim authority in Baghdad could take over most government functions from the US military in o­nly a few weeks.

The officials, who are part of the organization put together by the Pentagon's administrator in Iraq, retired Army Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, confirmed statements Saturday by Iraqi opposition leader Ahmad Chalabi that the interim authority would assume power "sooner rather than later, a matter of weeks rather than months."

The officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, would not be more specific, but they said they had no quarrel with the timetable laid out by Chalabi, who said at a news conference that "the Iraqi interim authority will be chosen by Iraqis and will take over the business of government."

Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress, the most prominent of a quarrelsome collection of exile groups that formed in opposition to the government of deposed President Saddam Hussein, said the first stage would be "reconstruction of basic services, done by Jay Garner."

"I expect this step to take a few weeks," he said, with a new constitution and general elections two years down the road.

Three functions

Ultimately, Chalabi said, the US military would have just three functions in Iraq: to eradicate any weapons of mass destruction, to dismantle the ousted regime's "apparatus of terror" and to disarm the previous regime's army.

"The United States of America does not want to run Iraq," Chalabi said. "That is the policy of the United States. That's what President Bush has said, and I believe him."

Chalabi was vague about how the interim government would be selected, but he reiterated that he was not a candidate to be the leader of Iraq. "I am a citizen of Iraq, and I am home, and I am expressing my views as a citizen of Iraq," he said.

As the head of the Iraqi National Congress, which is based in London, Chalabi had been touted by some as a possible political leader in a new government. However, he is a controversial figure in opposition circles, in part because of financial scandals in his past, and he is little-known within Iraq after decades in exile.

US officials have said the process of setting up a new government will include a series of meetings among representatives of different Iraqi groups, the first of which took place Tuesday in the ruins of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur in southern Iraq. Many Iraqis boycotted the meeting to protest US plans to install Garner as head of a temporary administration.

UN not capable

Asked whether the United Nations should play a political role in the new Iraq, Chalabi cited the lack of UN support for the invasion to topple Saddam and said, "I don't think the United Nations is capable in Iraq to play a major role."

Chalabi, a member of a prominent southern Shiite family who has lived outside Iraq since 1958, arrived in Baghdad o­n Wednesday and established a headquarters at neighboring social clubs in the affluent al-Mansour district.

The properties are under close guard by both US armored units and members of the new Free Iraqi Forces, a militia-like contingent sponsored by the Iraqi National Congress that entered Baghdad for the first time in recent days.

Large protests have made it clear that many Iraqis want the United States out of the country as soon as possible. In the biggest protest since US forces toppled Saddam nine days ago, tens of thousands of Muslims poured out of mosques and into the streets of Baghdad o­n Friday, calling for an Islamic state to be established.

"No to America. No to Saddam," they shouted as they called for unity among Iraq's Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims and Kurds.

Some carried banners in Arabic and English. "Leave our country. We want peace," o­ne of them read.

Inside a mosque, Sheikh Ahmed al-Kubeisy addressed his remarks to Americans. "You are masters today," he said. "But I warn you against thinking of staying. Get out before we force you out."

Leaders of the oil-rich nation's neighbors meeting also called for a speedy US departure during a meeting in Saudi Arabia.

Foreign ministers from the countries, all of which except Syria and Iran were key US allies that offered some form of support for the invasion last month, called o­n the United Nations to take a central role in rebuilding the country.

They said they feared that the United States would install a puppet regime in Iraq that would ally itself with Israel.

"American forces are occupation forces. Even the Americans and British have said that," the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said at a closing news conference Saturday. "They cannot fulfill their obligations according to the Geneva Convention unless they are called what they are."

With no trace of Saddam's government to be found, the United States is now turning its focus to kick-starting Iraq's shattered economy, which has been devastated by three wars in 23 years and economic sanctions since 1990.

Lift sanctions

US officials said the United Nations must lift sanctions within weeks to help the country recover, but Prince Saud said Saturday that UN sanctions should not end until the country had a legitimate government.

The US officials, briefing Reuters in Kuwait o­n condition of anonymity, said the United States would open Iraq's borders to tariff-free trade for 90 days o­nce the embargo was lifted.

They also predicted that Iraq could not rely o­n using its oil revenues for about a year until it sorted out war reparation claims and its debt, which has been estimated at more than $100 billion.

For residents, the concerns were much more immediate. US forces were still struggling to restore power to the city of roughly 5 million people, who have been without electricity for two weeks.

"Without power, there is no peace," said Haifa Aziz, the manager of a power substation. "For hospitals, for schools, for the people, they need electricity."

A US Marine spokesman said Friday that electricity was expected to be restored to most areas "in the next couple of days."