Pledged Funds For Iraq Rebuilding Will Likely Fall Short Of Promises
By Yochi J. Dreazen, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal
January 3, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. and its key foreign allies are likely to fall short of their funding pledges to help rebuild Iraq, as violence in the war-torn country absorbs contributions and deters nations from making new ones. The reconstruction shortfall may total one-third of promised funds, adding to the challenges for Iraq's next government.
The White House and some U.S. lawmakers have made clear that this year they want Iraqi security forces to take the lead in combating the insurgency, laying the groundwork for a gradual U.S. military withdrawal. The new year also marks a turning point in the administration's goal to rebuild Iraq -- an effort that has had mixed success.
The $18.4 billion U.S. rebuilding program was established with a three-year term that expires in the fall, and lawmakers -- mindful of contractor overcharges, corruption and security issues that have surfaced -- have made clear that they are unwilling to authorize a follow-up program. The budget request for Fiscal Year 2007 that the White House sends Congress next month will include no new Iraq rebuilding money, according to an official familiar with the matter. News that the White House won't seek Iraq reconstruction funds for fiscal 2007 was reported earlier by the Washington Post.
U.S. allies have fulfilled about $3.1 billion of the $13.6 billion they pledged at a donors conference in Madrid shortly after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. It is unclear when -- or if -- the rest will be provided. An October 2003 World Bank study estimated that as much as $60 billion would be needed to rebuild Iraq, far more than has been pledged or delivered.
Foreign-funded reconstruction is likely to halt entirely this year unless Iraq's new government accomplishes the significant task of finding other sources of money. The U.S. has been unable to get electricity or oil production back to pre-invasion levels, and water and sewage problems are growing for many of Iraq's 26 million people. A continued inability to solve those problems could damp public confidence in Iraq's next government and possibly lead restive ethnic groups to conclude their interests would be better served through independence.
U.S. officials acknowledge the shortcomings, but say they have made progress despite violence that has killed hundreds of foreign contractors and targeted Iraq's electrical and oil infrastructure. The officials said they had contracted out all but approximately $3 billion, and would spend the remaining money by Oct. 1. The majority of individual rebuilding projects will be finished by year-end, officials said.
"People often think that reconstruction is divorced from the security situation, but it's part and parcel," said Dan Speckhard, who leads the U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq. "This is a really challenging environment, and that impacts everything we try to do."
Foreign rebuilding in Iraq has weathered hurdles such as daily violence and a growing roster of Iraqi and American officials implicated in corruption and embezzlement investigations. But U.S. officials also say much of the money has gone to cover security costs or been shifted to other purposes because of policy decisions in Washington and Baghdad.
Shortly after arriving in Baghdad in the summer of 2004, for instance, then-U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte persuaded Washington to shift several billion dollars from water, sewage and electricity projects to training and equipping Iraq's fledgling security forces. An additional $1 billion went to democracy-building efforts. Security costs account for as much as a quarter of all money spent on reconstruction, reducing the amount available for roads, schools or power plants.
"The U.S. money was never meant to do everything," Mr. Speckhard said. "It was meant to be a good start."
Reconstruction also has been hampered by the slow pace of foreign donations. More than two years after the Madrid conference, less than a quarter of the promised money has been delivered, U.S. officials said.
A breakdown compiled by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction shows as of last summer, Japan -- which pledged more money for Iraq than any country but the U.S. -- had fulfilled its $1.5 billion aid promise. Britain, by contrast, had fulfilled just over half its $452 million aid pledge by then.
The Bush administration has lobbied allies to speed funds to Iraq, but has been unwilling to publicly detail which countries have met their pledges and which haven't for fear of offending friendly governments, the officials said.
Wall Street Journal
January 3, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. and its key foreign allies are likely to fall short of their funding pledges to help rebuild Iraq, as violence in the war-torn country absorbs contributions and deters nations from making new ones. The reconstruction shortfall may total one-third of promised funds, adding to the challenges for Iraq's next government.
The White House and some U.S. lawmakers have made clear that this year they want Iraqi security forces to take the lead in combating the insurgency, laying the groundwork for a gradual U.S. military withdrawal. The new year also marks a turning point in the administration's goal to rebuild Iraq -- an effort that has had mixed success.
The $18.4 billion U.S. rebuilding program was established with a three-year term that expires in the fall, and lawmakers -- mindful of contractor overcharges, corruption and security issues that have surfaced -- have made clear that they are unwilling to authorize a follow-up program. The budget request for Fiscal Year 2007 that the White House sends Congress next month will include no new Iraq rebuilding money, according to an official familiar with the matter. News that the White House won't seek Iraq reconstruction funds for fiscal 2007 was reported earlier by the Washington Post.
U.S. allies have fulfilled about $3.1 billion of the $13.6 billion they pledged at a donors conference in Madrid shortly after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. It is unclear when -- or if -- the rest will be provided. An October 2003 World Bank study estimated that as much as $60 billion would be needed to rebuild Iraq, far more than has been pledged or delivered.
Foreign-funded reconstruction is likely to halt entirely this year unless Iraq's new government accomplishes the significant task of finding other sources of money. The U.S. has been unable to get electricity or oil production back to pre-invasion levels, and water and sewage problems are growing for many of Iraq's 26 million people. A continued inability to solve those problems could damp public confidence in Iraq's next government and possibly lead restive ethnic groups to conclude their interests would be better served through independence.
U.S. officials acknowledge the shortcomings, but say they have made progress despite violence that has killed hundreds of foreign contractors and targeted Iraq's electrical and oil infrastructure. The officials said they had contracted out all but approximately $3 billion, and would spend the remaining money by Oct. 1. The majority of individual rebuilding projects will be finished by year-end, officials said.
"People often think that reconstruction is divorced from the security situation, but it's part and parcel," said Dan Speckhard, who leads the U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq. "This is a really challenging environment, and that impacts everything we try to do."
Foreign rebuilding in Iraq has weathered hurdles such as daily violence and a growing roster of Iraqi and American officials implicated in corruption and embezzlement investigations. But U.S. officials also say much of the money has gone to cover security costs or been shifted to other purposes because of policy decisions in Washington and Baghdad.
Shortly after arriving in Baghdad in the summer of 2004, for instance, then-U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte persuaded Washington to shift several billion dollars from water, sewage and electricity projects to training and equipping Iraq's fledgling security forces. An additional $1 billion went to democracy-building efforts. Security costs account for as much as a quarter of all money spent on reconstruction, reducing the amount available for roads, schools or power plants.
"The U.S. money was never meant to do everything," Mr. Speckhard said. "It was meant to be a good start."
Reconstruction also has been hampered by the slow pace of foreign donations. More than two years after the Madrid conference, less than a quarter of the promised money has been delivered, U.S. officials said.
A breakdown compiled by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction shows as of last summer, Japan -- which pledged more money for Iraq than any country but the U.S. -- had fulfilled its $1.5 billion aid promise. Britain, by contrast, had fulfilled just over half its $452 million aid pledge by then.
The Bush administration has lobbied allies to speed funds to Iraq, but has been unwilling to publicly detail which countries have met their pledges and which haven't for fear of offending friendly governments, the officials said.
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