Iraq law and order 'top priority'

The first Iraqi police have been trained

The new civilian administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, has said restoring law and order in the country will be his top priority.

In his first news conference since arriving in Iraq last week, Mr Bremer acknowledged there was a serious problem but Iraq was not "a country in anarchy".

Mr Bremer also said the coalition was determined to eradicate the former ruling Baath party that helped Saddam Hussein maintain his grip on power.

The BBC's Barbara Plett says the new administrator is facing widespread criticism that the occupying powers have failed to secure the country more than a month after they conquered it.

More police

"It is my responsibility as the administrator of the coalition provisional authority... to bring security back to Iraq," Mr Bremer told reporters.

He said thousands of Iraqi police officers were back on the streets, and reinforcements were on their way.

Bremer - intent on eradicating Saddam's heritage

"We will be bringing considerable... more troops into the country - some 15,000 in the next two-to-three weeks - so we understand the importance of dealing with this problem."

Mr Bremer said a lot was needed to be changed in a country after so many years of rule by Saddam Hussein - "his instruments and use of power and repression run deep into society".

"We have an obligation now to build the new Iraq without those instruments."

One of Mr Bremer's targets were members of the Baath party who had abused power.

"We are determined that Baathists and Saddam Hussein will not come back to Iraq. Iraq must remain free and independent, a stable and representative country".

The coalition has kept some senior Baath Party officials in top jobs as it tries to speed up the process of rebuilding the country, but that's angered many Iraqis, our correspondent says.

Mr Bremer promised to issue the guidelines under which Iraqis would be vetted to ensure they had no close ties to Saddam's former government.