Ahmad Chalabi, the president of Iraq’s interim government, has broken with the Bush administration and called for the Iraqi Governing Council to be given at least partial control of the Iraq’s finance and security ministries. This according to a report in the New York Times. The paper reports Chalabi is also attempting to get the UN to grant sovereign status for the unelected 25-member Governing Council, a move Washington opposes. French President Jacques Chirac has also called for the UN to oversee a two-stage plan to transfer sovereignty to the Iraqi Governing Council. The White House opposes the plan. National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said yesterday the French calls for an immediate handover were “not going to work”.