LONDON, Oct 13: America’s European allies are reacting with alarm at a plan being prepared in Washington to install a United States general to govern a newly liberated Iraq.

A London-based daily, the Telegraph reported on Sunday that the proposal was an implicit acknowledgement that America’s long-running effort to identify an immediate and credible successor to Saddam among the ranks of the Iraqi opposition had foundered.

“Diplomats say the suggestion, made by senior Bush administration officials on Friday, has endangered frantic American and British efforts to secure a United Nations Security Council resolution backing tough new weapons inspections inside Iraq. Under the plan, modelled on America’s occupation of Japan after the Second World War, a top American commander — possibly Gen Tommy Franks, now in charge of US forces in the region — would assume the senior role in a coalition-run regime”.

The paper said: “France and Russia, two of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, are dragging their feet over US calls for inspections to be backed up by the simultaneous threat of military force, and many Nato members are also nervous.”

Pentagon officials have been among those pushing hardest for the policy of regime change espoused by President George W. Bush earlier this year — but now officially on the back-burner because of British, European and Russian sensitivities.

One London-based diplomat said: “Someone at the Pentagon has decided it’s a good time to leak this, without thinking that it does not go down well elsewhere.”

At a practical level, there are doubts over whether America has sufficient service personnel required. The total strength of the US armed forces is 1,414,000, with an army of 485,000, but of these only 15 per cent or less are deployable on operations overseas.

American planners calculate that a force of 75,000 US and allied troops will be needed for the occupation, which could last up to 10 years.

Under the plans, a ground force of five armoured divisions and two airborne and helicopter assault divisions will be used in the operation to remove Saddam.

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, flies to Washington this week to warn America that it must prepare to back down on its demand for a single UN resolution authorising new weapons inspections inside Iraq and military force if they fail.