NEWS: U.N. Official Says Elections Unlikely Before June 30; Iraqi Officials Oppose U.S. Formula

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.N. official said Friday it was unlikely elections could be held before a U.S.-set June 30 deadline for handing power to the Iraqis, and several Iraqi leaders said there was growing support for scrapping the U.S. blueprint for establishing a new government. A consensus is emerging among many Iraqis for some sort of direct elections rather than the caucuses proposed by the United States.
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U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, meanwhile, warned Iraqis to be aware of the risks of civil war as they try to find an acceptable formula for sovereignty.

"I am a little bit disturbed and a little bit uneasy because there are very serious dangers," Brahimi said. Civil wars erupt, he said, "because people are reckless, people are selfish, because people think more of themselves than they do of their country."