US envoy to Iraq to be nominated ambassador to UN

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador to Iraq, is due to be nominated by President George W. Bush to become the US envoy to the United Nations, a senior administration official said Thursday. Khalilzad, who was born in Afghanistan, has served also as ambassador to that country. He is likely to be replaced in Baghdad by Ryan Crocker, a veteran American diplomat, said the official, who could not be identified because he was not authorized to make an announcement for the White House. Khalilzad would replace John Bolton, whose appointment to the UN job expired recently. The changes come as Bush is expected to announce a new US policy for the Iraq war next week.