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May 20, 2004 TRANSITION U.S. Advisers to Stay in Iraq After June 30 By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS WASHINGTON, May 19 — About 200 American and international advisers will continue to work at 26 Iraqi ministries as consultants after the June 30 transfer of authority to Iraq, Bush administration planners said Wednesday. "We want the Iraqis to understand that we are not abandoning them," said Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, who is managing the transition for the State Department. He spoke at a briefing sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace. At the same time, American reconstruction teams will set up four regional headquarters around the country to continue managing the billions of dollars in American aid that has not yet been spent. With just six weeks left before the transfer, Mr. Ricciardone and the retired general who is representing the Defense Department, Claude M. Kicklighter, are immersed in personnel and real estate issues as well as security and communications concerns. They acknowledged that many of their solutions would be improvised at the last minute. As American control shifts from the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Pentagon to the State Department, officials are scrambling to staff a new embassy that will be among the world`s largest, with as many as 1,000 American staff members and 700 Iraqi personnel. Establishing security for embassy personnel is a paramount concern. After the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers barracks in Saudi Arabia, in which 19 Americans died, "we learned that there can be no gray areas with respect to U.S. security," Mr. Ricciardone said. After the transfer of power, the administration plans to retain control of numerous buildings within the so-called Green Zone, a compound of about four miles square that includes the former Republican Palace and was a stronghold of Baathist supporters of the Saddam Hussein government. The area will probably remain cordoned off, with checkpoints run by members of the multinational force. It is still unclear whether the administration will try to buy or rent the properties it now occupies or otherwise negotiate a deal with Iraq. Officials said lawyers were exploring the options. "There will have to be an arrangement with the government of Iraq for use of that land," said Adam Ereli, the State Department spokesman, who added that the subject was not a significant obstacle. "This is an issue that we deal with in embassies around the world." Mr. Ricciardone said the embassy would rely on outside contractors, at significant expense, to provide security in the Green Zone. "We do not have nearly enough diplomatic security" for the task, he said. Privileges and immunities for the contract workers have yet to be resolved. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Guten Morgen Mr. Bush |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | Joerver (20.05.04 11:05:24) |
| Beitrag: | 16,601 von 35,423 (ID:13187413) |
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