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| Iraq | |
| Iraqi official says limited German, French help won’t be forgotten | |
| 2003-10-24 | |
| 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. 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. "As far as Germany and France are concerned, really, this was a regrettable position they had," Allawi said. "I don’t think the Iraqis are going to forget easily that in the hour of need, those countries wanted to neglect Iraq." Guess TotalFinaElf won’t be getting those leases after all. "The people of Iraq have a hard road ahead of them, filled with both risk and opportunity," Annan said at the opening of the donors’ conference for Iraq in Madrid, Spain. "Let us not leave them to travel that road alone." Some countries have balked at funding programs in post-war Iraq, citing the go-it-alone approach taken by the United States and Britain ahead of the conflict. Germany, France and Russia — the chief opponents of war before the U.S. invasion — sent lower level officials to the conference. Those countries have been opposed to what they see as too much U.S. control of the reconstruction process. So contribute to the UN fund. The United States has committed $20 billion to the effort. Spanish Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato said last Friday he hoped $15 billion to $20 billion would be raised, but Foreign Minister Ana Palacio told CNN last week that as little as $6 billion could be raised for a trust fund that the World Bank, United Nations and Iraqi authorities would manage. $6 billion will help, and the donor list will allow the Iraqis to decide with whom they’ll do business in the future.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 There is plenty in the news on Iraq today: A. Iraq's Businessmen Feel Left Out in the Cold B. Baghdad's unreported attacks C. Anti-sniper laser set for Iraq D. Iraq Officials Detail the Needs at Home E. Deadly leftover ammunition litters Iraq |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-24 2:50:35 PM |
| #6 Might be good to spend some with Iraqis too, eh? As for the Frogs, let them go jump. |
| Posted by: Nero 2003-10-24 12:56:05 PM |
| #5 american tax payer money spent on reconstruction will be spent with american companies - periord. |
| Posted by: Dan 2003-10-24 12:07:08 PM |
| #4 So much for French oil contracts. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-10-24 11:44:03 AM |
| #3 Some countries have balked at funding programs in post-war Iraq, citing the go-it-alone approach taken by the United States and Britain ahead of the conflict. Germany, France and Russia -- the chief opponents of war before the U.S. invasion -- sent lower level officials to the conference. Fine. If they don't want to throw in, then they don't have any say whatsoever - criticism or otherwise - on what goes on in Iraq. TotalFinaElf lost their Iraq oil contracts? Tough shit. Those countries have been opposed to what they see as too much U.S. control of the reconstruction process. The reason why the U.S. controls the reconstruction process is because the U.S. committed the most resources and effort. Germany, Russia, and especially France can go screw themselves. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-24 11:07:53 AM |
| #2 I wouldn't be surprised if the new Iraqi textbooks make the point clear, but I doubt any US textbook will ever mention the perfidy of our "pacifists". |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-10-24 10:52:24 AM |
| #1 This could be a good sign... Even if concepts such as "cause & effect" have never been taught to them before, they already do understand concepts such as betrayal. The anti-war crowd's post-war stinginess and tireless efforts to maintain / prevent the overthrow of Saddam's regime, as clear historical facts, should be made obvious in those new textbooks, folks. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-10-24 7:03:47 AM |