Powell: US to remain in Iraq for "considerable period"

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that US-led forces would remain in Iraq
îîfor a considerable period,'' while insisting that the new Iraqi government would have real authority after the June 30 handover of power.

"We will have to accept what the Iraqi people decide upon," he told NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

Powell, who was in Jordan for World Economic Forum, said that US-led forces would have to remain in Iraq over the long term.

"They need our troops there for some considerable period of time in the future ... so they can have free and open and fair elections."

"There will be a period of time, some considerable period of time, before we can see conditions of security that can be placed totally into the hands of Iraqi security forces," Powell added to Fox television.