Posted on 04/24/2003 6:53:00 PM PDT by Utah Girl
The "governmental process" in Iraq will be up and running by the end of next week and all ministries will have Iraqi officials at the helm as soon as possible, the retired American general in charge of rebuilding the country said today.
Retired Lt.-Gen. Jay Garner spoke at a news conference after meeting with scores of Iraqi technocrats and academics on efforts to bring democracy and stability to this leaderless country.
"You will begin to see the governmental process begin by the end of next week," he said. "It is very important that people start back to work, especially those in public service."
Garner said he had a co-ordinator for every ministry, and will ensure that all ministries have a proper place to work. That includes finding new buildings, furniture and office supplies for those agencies whose offices were damaged by U.S. bombing.
Among the topics at the meeting was how people in Baghdad would prefer to choose new municipal leadership to fill the vacuum created by the fall of Saddam Hussein's administration.
"Our purpose here in your country is to create an environment for you so that we can begin a process of government that leads to a democratic form in Iraq," Garner told the 60-or-so Iraqis attending.
He said recent demonstrations protesting the U.S. presence have been influenced by neighbouring Iran.
"Those are well organized; I think what you find in that is a lot of Iranian influence," Garner said, adding that he expected such protests to lessen in the coming days and that "you will see more favouritism toward the U.S."
The Shiites, who make up about 60 per cent of Iraq's population of 24 million, are fast filling the power vacuum left by the ouster of Saddam. Some fear their dominance of postwar Iraqi politics could lead to an Islamic theocracy like the one next door in Shiite-dominated Iran.
Many of Baghdad's residents are suspicious of U.S. intentions in Iraq but hope they can bring order to the capital, which was engulfed by looting and arson after the regime's fall. Much of the city still lacks power, water and telephone service.
"If the Americans are not going to control Baghdad very quickly, we will have a serious problem," Macon Kadhim, a 60-year-old electrical engineer, said before going into the meeting. "The first thing I would like to hear is that something will be done in Baghdad to restore security."
At the news conference, Maj.-Gen. Carl Strock, speaking next to Garner, said oil is now flowing in southern Iraq, 175,000 barrels a day to a refinery in Basra and to the city's power plants. In the next day or two, 60,000 barrels a day will begin flowing in the north, as well as natural gas, which drives electric turbines for Baghdad.
Garner received a polite but cool reception when he arrived in Baghdad on Monday. He spent the next two days in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, where he is widely admired for his work in protecting the Kurds in 1991 after a rebellion was put down by Saddam's forces.
He is setting up his offices at Baghdad's Republican Palace complex, once used by Saddam's officials.
Mohammed Mohsen al-Zubaidi, a recently returned Iraqi exile, has proclaimed himself the new mayor of Baghdad — a claim not recognized by Garner and his Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, according to Garner's deputy, British Maj.-Gen. Tim Cross.
Al-Zubaidi "is running Baghdad as much as Saddam Hussein is," said Lt.-Col. Alan King, commander of a U.S. army civil affairs battalion.
Garner spokesperson Nathan Jones said a second general meeting with Iraqi factions to discuss forming a provisional government would be held by Tuesday. A Baghdad lawyer, Abdul-Khaliq al-Shabbut, said it was scheduled for Monday in the Baghdad area and would involve at least 300 Iraqis.
The first meeting took place April 15 in the ancient southern city of Ur, and ended with the Iraqis issuing a 13-point communique declaring, among other things, that the new Iraq must be democratic and Saddam's Baath party must be dissolved.
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