The planned long-term military relationship with the emerging government of Iraq would grant the US access to the Iraq military bases, the paper quoted senior Bush administration officials as saying.

The US military officials mentioned four bases in Iraq that could be used by the US military forces in the future.

One is at the international airport just outside Baghdad; another at Tallil, near Nasiriya in the south; the third at an isolated airstrip called H-q in the western desert, along the old oil pipeline that runs to Jordan; and the last at the Bashur air field in the Kurdish north, according to the paper.

The military foothold in Iraq would give the US access to projecting its influences into the heart of the Middle East region.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress, called for US forces on Sunday to remain in Iraq until the country holds elections.

"The military presence of the United States in Iraq is a necessity until at least the first democratic election is held, and I think this process should take two years," the exiled Iraqi politician said in an interview on ABC television's "This Week" program.

Chalabi is widely seen as a pro-American Iraqi politician and is the one whom analysts have said is the US choice to lead Iraq. He is also the first major exiled politician to return to Baghdad since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government.

(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2003)