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Last August, I participated in a town-hall meeting hosted by the administrative council of Dibis, an ethnically mixed town 22 miles northwest of Kirkuk. Locals complained about everything from sporadic electricity to fertilizer shortages to potholes, and their Iraqi representatives listened attentively. It was an encouraging sight, all the more so because the month before, Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) head L. Paul Bremer had proudly announced, in a televised speech, that "all of Iraq's main cities, and dozens of other towns, now have administrative councils." But there was a problem. Soon after his announcement, Bremer--not wanting to complicate planning for...

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is reportedly withholding the one-billion dollar in loans and credits that it pledged last month for Iraq's reconstruction until the security situation in the country is stabilized and a sovereign government takes office, officials of the United States and Saudi Arabia said this week. The Saudi decision is a setback for the Bush administration, which has hoped the kingdom would set an example for other Arab governments by providing the vitally needed aid. At a donors' conference in Madrid last month, the Saudi government pledged to give Saudis willing to do business in Iraq $500 million in...

U.S. Must Continue Message of Support to Iraqis, Says Wolfowitz By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USAAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2003 -- Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said today that to sustain the support of the Iraqi people, America must send a "clear and strong signal that the United States will be with them until we are no longer needed." Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz addresses a forum in Washington hosted by George Mason University Nov. 4. Wolfowitz was one of several speakers who came to examine America's role in nation-building in Iraq. Photo by...

WASHINGTON– The Pentagon's top money manager today praised the nations of the international community that pledged billions for the reconstruction of Iraq at the Oct. 23-24 donors' conference in Madrid. About $13 billion was pledged, DoD Comptroller Dov Zakheim told reporters at a Pentagon press conference. That amount, he said, is in addition to the $20 billion earmarked for Iraq reconstruction contained within the $87 billion supplemental budget proposal for Afghanistan and Iraq that's now before Congress. The amount of money pledged for Iraq in Madrid proves "the international community feels that it is terribly important that there be a...

ATHENS, Oct 24 (Reuters) - France on Friday reiterated it would not send troops to Iraq to help relieve stretched U.S.-led forces facing a drawn-out guerrilla campaign. "We are a part of the humanitarian effort but there is no question of sending troops," French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told Reuters after a meeting with her Greek counterpart Yiannos Papandoniou. The United States succeeded earlier this month in getting the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution to set up a U.S.-led multinational force and persuade other countries to send troops and money to Iraq. But many countries are reluctant to...

OTTAWA, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Canada pledged C$10 million ($7.6 million) on Friday so that 20 Canadian police officers can train Iraqi police at a site in Jordan, International Cooperation Minister Susan Whelan said. Canada, which refused to contribute troops to the Iraq war, offered C$300 million earlier this year for humanitarian and reconstruction aid in Iraq. The funds for police training are in addition to the C$300 million. "There will be 20 Canadian police instructors to help train Iraqi police officers," Whelan told Reuters by phone from the Iraq donors conference in Madrid. Royal Canadian Mounted Police superintendent David...

NATIONS, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Funds pledged in Madrid will be only the starting point in Iraqi reconstruction, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Friday, predicting governments would give more over time as security improved. "We should not judge the success of Iraqi reconstruction by the contributions that are announced today. This is only the beginning of a process," Annan said a day after opening the Madrid meeting of some 70 governments and international agencies weighing contributions to the rebuilding of Iraq. "One shouldn't expect governments to indicate all that they are going to do for Iraq today in Madrid,"...

The Japanese Government has pledged an additional $5 billion to help rebuild Iraq. The pledge comes on the final day of a donors conference in Madrid, which has also seen commitments from the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Australia, among others. Japan has already promised $2AU billion in aid to Iraq, and this new pledge takes its total commitment to $7 billion. The World Bank believes the war-ravaged country need more than $50 billion of assistance over the next four years. Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yasuo Fukuda, says the money will be used to repair electricity supplies and telecommunications....

MADRID (AFP) - The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) unveiled a loan package for Iraq worth up to a total of 9.25 billion dollars over five years to aid reconstruction of the country's war-shattered economy. As more than 70 donor nations outlined their own pledges here, World Bank president James Wolfensohn said Friday that the international community had to rebuild a "depressed" society that was "really on its back" and said the organisation would pledge loans of up to five billion dollars over the next five years. The IMF weighed in with a package worth up to...

Donors Promise Iraq $33 Billion, Smashing Expectations 30 minutes ago Add World - Reuters to My Yahoo! By David Chance and Mona Megalli MADRID (Reuters) - International donors pledged at least $33 billion in aid and loans over the next four years to help rebuild war-ravaged Iraq (news - web sites) on Friday as the response to a U.S.-led drive for funds far outstripped expectations. Reuters Photo Latest headlines: · Global Donors Pledge $33 Billion for Iraq AP - 21 minutes ago · List of Largest Contributions for Iraq AP - 22 minutes ago · Donors Promise Iraq $33...

<p>MADRID &#8212; Internatioanal donors yesterday pledged at least $13 billion in aid and loans over the next four years to help rebuild war-ravaged Iraq as the response to a U.S.-led drive for funds far outstripped expectations.</p> <p>This is in addition to $20 billion already pledged by the United States.</p>

MARGARET NEIGHBOUR AN INTERNATIONAL donors’ conference for Iraq’s reconstruction ended yesterday with $13 billion (£7.7 million) in new pledges, although most of the money was in the form of loans to an economy already crippled by heavy debt. The money, on top of about $20 billion already promised by the US president, George Bush, "demonstrates the international community coming together" to help Iraq, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said. Ana Palacio, the Spanish foreign minister, called the two-day session "a great success", while the finance minister, Rodrigo Rato, said it demonstrated "a major commitment ... for the future...

<p>MADRID &#8212; France led a trio of nations yesterday in criticizing Washington's reluctance to set a clear timetable for handing over power to Iraqis as a tally of postwar aid for the country soared to tens of billions of dollars.</p>

By David Chance and Mona Megalli MADRID (Reuters) - International donors pledged at least $33 billion in aid and loans over the next four years to help rebuild war-ravaged Iraq on Friday as the response to a U.S.-led drive for funds far outstripped expectations. Spanish Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato said the combined offer -- made at a gathering of more than 70 nations in Madrid -- was equivalent to twice Iraq's annual national income and was a global vote of confidence in the country's future. "If you take the American contribution which is hopefully totally a grant, then we have...

Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, appealed yesterday at the donor conference for Iraq for nations to give generously to tackle the disease, homelessness and malnutrition afflicting the country. At the start of the fund-raising conference in Madrid its Spanish hosts lowered expectations by setting a $6bn (£3.5bn) target for the gathering, which is being held against the backdrop of divisions over the US-led occupation. Pledges are certain to fall short of the $30bn sought by Washington, with Europe expected to stump up about €700m (£487m) from EU and national coffers for 2004. Moufawak al-Rabii, a member of Iraq's US-appointed...

<p>A top Iraqi official attending an international conference on raising funds to rebuild Iraq warned Thursday that France and Germany's limited donations would not be forgotten.</p> <p>Ayad Allawi, the current head of Iraq's U.S.-appointed governing council, said he hoped German and French officials would reconsider their decision not to boost their contributions beyond funds already pledged through the European Union.</p>

<p>Kuwait said yesterday it will offer "generous aid" at an Iraq donors conference opening today in Madrid, but France and Germany said they would be offering no new funds for postwar reconstruction.</p> <p>Kuwait, which has already spent $900 million on humanitarian aid to its neighbor, is one of more than 70 nations gathering for the two-day conference, where U.S. officials are hoping to capitalize on the spirit of last week's unanimous U.N. Security Council vote.</p>

<p>EU to Donate More Than EU700 Million to Rebuild Iraq (Update1) Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union will offer more than 700 million euros ($818 million) for Iraq's reconstruction, topping the amount the 15-nation bloc contributed for the rebuilding of Afghanistan.</p>

The most recent U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq, passed unanimously last week, provides international authorization of the American-led multinational force and supports Iraq's creation of a constitution and a democratic government. Passage of this resolution was a good thing, but it is only a step toward the goal of a free, reconstructed and democratic Iraq, which will provide stability in the Middle East as it stands as an outpost against the global terrorist threat. Much has been achieved in Iraq, but a great deal remains to be done. This week in Madrid there is an international donors conference where...

The most recent U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq, passed unanimously last week, provides international authorization of the American-led multinational force and supports Iraq's creation of a constitution and a democratic government. Passage of this resolution was a good thing, but it is only a step toward the goal of a free, reconstructed and democratic Iraq, which will provide stability in the Middle East as it stands as an outpost against the global terrorist threat. Much has been achieved in Iraq, but a great deal remains to be done. This week in Madrid there is an international donors conference where...