http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/4747341.htmBAGHDAD, July 13 (Reuters) - Baghdad residents poured cold water on Iraq's new Governing Council on Sunday, saying they would not support a U.S.-backed institution or politicians who lived abroad while they suffered under Saddam Hussein.
The council held its much-anticipated inaugural meeting in Baghdad, seen in Washington as a first step towards a democratic government in postwar Iraq.
But while U.S. and U.N. officials in Iraq hailed the meeting as historic, Iraqis did not make a big deal of it -- and some had not heard about it at all.
"We cannot back the council. It is backed by America and it won't change anything. America has just made empty promises," said Sabah Kathim, who makes about three dollars a day selling ice.
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