{"id":58417,"date":"2018-02-09T06:06:34","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T06:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=58417"},"modified":"2018-02-09T06:06:34","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T06:06:34","slug":"exclusive-u-s-not-planning-contribute-money-iraq-reconstruction-conference-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/exclusive-u-s-not-planning-contribute-money-iraq-reconstruction-conference-officials.html","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: U.S. not planning to contribute money at Iraq reconstruction conference – officials"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exclusive: U.S. not planning to contribute money at Iraq reconstruction conference – officials<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The United States does not plan to contribute any money at a conference in Kuwait next week to fund Iraq\u2019s reconstruction drive after the war against Islamic State forces, U.S. and Western officials said, a move critics say could deal a new blow to American standing internationally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not planning to announce anything,\u201d a U.S. official said on Thursday regarding financial assistance at the conference, which U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will attend.<\/span><\/p>\n

The official, however, said Tillerson could still decide closer to the time to announce a contribution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington instead is encouraging private-sector investment and counting on Iraq\u2019s Gulf neighbors, particularly Sunni regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, to pour in money as part of a rapprochement with Baghdad meant to reduce Shi\u2018ite rival Iran\u2019s influence in Iraq.<\/span><\/p>\n

President Donald Trump said during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign that if elected, \u201cthe era of nation-building will be ended.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said his country needs up to $100 billion to fix crumbling infrastructure and cities devastated by the conflict against Islamic State.<\/span><\/p>\n

A shortage of reconstruction funds could increase the danger of reinvigorating grievances among the minority Iraqi Sunnis against Iraq\u2019s Shi\u2018te-led government.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked if the U.S. government will be making an announcement of contributions at the conference, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, \u201cI\u2018m not aware of any announcements that we will be making.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 2,300 members of the private sector will also be joining … and talk about ways that they can help facilitate the large-scale reconstruction taking place in Iraq,\u201d Nauert added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremy Konyndyk, who served from 2013 to 2017 as head of the U.S. Agency for International Development\u2019s (USAID) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, said that by not contributing to reconstruction, especially in combat-ravaged areas dominated by Sunnis, the Trump administration could help set the stage for a new insurgency.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen this movie before. There is a very real risk if the U.S. doesn\u2019t put money into reconstruction, that having just won the battle, you lose the peace,\u201d said Konyndyk, now a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development think tank.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another U.S. official pointed to the billions of dollars the United States has committed to financing loans and restoring basic services to Iraqi towns and cities in the immediate aftermath of fighting.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe immediate stabilization needs remain vast, and limited U.S. government resources alone cannot meet these current and pressing needs, let alone consider supporting long-term reconstruction,\u201d the U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The official said Washington strongly supports the conference and would \u201ccontinue to work with the Government of Iraq and the international community to help address the needs of the Iraqi people as they recover and rebuild their country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER U.S. INVASIONThe United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled the late President Saddam Hussein and more recently led an international coalition fighting Islamic State, has pumped billions of dollars into Iraq.<\/span><\/p>\n

In January, the United States said it planned to provide $150 million for stabilization operations in 2018 – funds that would go to restoring basic utilities and grants to small businesses – bringing Washington\u2019s total contribution to $265.3 million since 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. government has also provided $1.7 billion in humanitarian assistance for Iraq since 2014, making it the single largest donor to address the Iraqi crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely nothing,\u201d said a Western official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, when asked whether Washington would announce any financial contributions at the conference to fund long-term reconstruction projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mdhair Saleh, Abadi\u2019s economic advisor, would neither confirm nor deny the lack of a U.S. contribution.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is not about direct financial assistance,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cI think U.S. policy is to support private-sector investment in Iraq. As for direct support in the Kuwait conference on the part of the government, I have not heard anything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018SINEWS OF A STRATEGY\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, said the United States had already \u201cpoured billions and billions of dollars into Iraq\u201d for the fight against Islamic State, equipping Iraqi forces and humanitarian aid.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnly the United States can organize the diplomatic, reconstruction, military and political sinews of a strategy for the international community,\u201d Jeffrey told Reuters.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we\u2019re not putting any money up will weaken our case, and that\u2019s unfortunate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A U.S. official in Baghdad said the American role in the Kuwait conference would be focused on opportunities \u201cfor true private-sector investment or public-private partnerships with the Iraqi government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are trying to do in Kuwait next week is to put together companies that want to look at Iraq … and possibly also talk about ways to finance projects,\u201d added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.<\/span><\/p>\n

A State Department official said Washington was counting on other countries to step up, adding that more than 100 U.S. companies would be at the event.<\/span><\/p>\n

Konyndyk, the former USAID official, said business people would want to see the risks of their investments in Iraq mitigated by U.S. government contributions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf the U.S. government wants to see private-sector investment go in, they need to put skin in the game,\u201d added Konyndyk, saying a contribution also would demonstrate American commitment to reducing Iran\u2019s influence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iran, by leveraging its ties with Iraq\u2019s majority Shi\u2018ites, emerged as the main power broker in Iraq after the United States withdrew its troops in 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-iraq-conference-exclusive\/exclusive-u-s-not-planning-to-contribute-money-at-iraq-reconstruction-conference-officials-idUSKBN1FS30L<\/span><\/p>\n

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