US accused of hampering rebuilding

Date: 11/09/03

By Dana Spinant

THE Tower of Babel, which collapsed while entangled in linguistic chaos, is for many involved in efforts to rebuild Iraq an apt symbol of their huge task.

The legend goes that the people of Babylon - 70 kilometres south of Baghdad - were trying to build a tower to heaven. God disapproved and caused the workers to speak in different languages, scuttling the project.

At present, disharmony within the coalition currently running Iraq undermines efforts to rebuild the country, after the toppling of Saddam Hussein's dictatorial regime in April.

Tension has recently emerged between the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), based in Baghdad, and its European officials who run CPA 'South' from Basrah.

The view in Basrah is that the US administration in Baghdad is trying to stall the quick progress achieved in the south.

CPA South is becoming increasingly frustrated at Baghdad's (ie US) attempts to "slow down the more rapid development of the south", one top official in charge of economic matters for south Iraq told European Voice.

This is implicitly acknowledged by British Army chiefs responsible for leading the multinational peacekeeping forces in the region.

Brigadier Bill Moore, head of the 19 Mechanized Brigade, based in Basrah, agrees that there is an intention from "the centre" to create a uniform rhythm of development to all regions.

"They [the American leaders in Baghdad] want to see the country proceed at the same speed. In the south, we move faster than in the centre and in the north."

For Colonel Richard Barrons, Multinational Division (South East) chief of staff, "this is a tension that can be managed".

But civilian officials in Basrah are increasingly frustrated by Baghdad's drive to impose more bureaucracy in their dealings, which they say hinder efforts to bring about quick and palpable improvements for the population.

The change of head of CPA South, which took place at the end of July, is linked by many to this frustration.

Danish Ambassador Ole Woehlers Olsen, the first CPA South chief, quit his post and was replaced by former British envoy to Pakistan, Sir Hillary Synnott. Olsen was known to have had several showdowns with his superiors in Baghdad.

His former colleagues say frustration over Baghdad's priorities and policies led him to throw in the towel.

The south is developing quicker than Baghdad, thanks in part to a better security environment: although attacks on coalition forces in the south have been rising of late, the majority Shia population, which was persecuted by Saddam Hussein and his ruling Sunni elite, is less hostile to the occupation.

While in the centre of the country, American forces are being harassed by former regime-loyalist guerrillas, and attacks against Shia religious leaders smack of civil war, in Basrah, United Nations agencies and the multinational troops under British command can better concentrate on restoring basic services.

UNICEF ensures the supply of clean water and the vaccination of children, the military is working alongside NGOs to refurbish schools and clinics, and UN agencies organize the return of refugees from neighbouring countries.

The United Nations Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq admits that "in the south, we [the UN] are somewhat privileged, as we have better work conditions.

"Not only are we able to provide emergency help, but we can also plan some reconstruction work. In Baghdad, their [UN] action is at a much more rudimentary stage," he said.

But officials at CPA South complain that the relationship with the interim administration in Baghdad is getting worse.

"At present, we are obliged to obtain their approval for more and more projects. If they continue this way, our good start in Basrah will be ruined," one said.

"Americans are control-freaks. They want to have everything under their control. They are so stressed that everything has to be done properly, they are so desperate not to be seen to be failing, especially in Baghdad, where they have a tough time."

Brigadier Bill Moore opines that "with any form of government you have a degree of frustration", and any central government wants the country it rules to develop at uniform speed.

The European Commission's envoy to Iraq, Bernard Savage, says he perceives "no intention" from the centre "to hold back the south, but there are different approaches".

"There is a physical distance between CPA Baghdad and Basrah, there is a different security situation, and a different perception. As it [CPA Baghdad] is physically isolated - not only from the rest of the country but from the rest of Baghdad as well - there is an impression that it acts as if it were more remote from the population.

"In Basrah, there is a different approach," he told this paper.

"I don't dispute the perception, but I don't think there is an intention [to hold the south back]."

However, one civilian British official in Basrah warns that there is a risk there will be more disturbances if the local population feel they are held back, deliberately or not, by the capital.

"If the Shias in the south see that Baghdad tries to hold them back, after decades of persecution by Saddam's ruling clique from central Iraq, they will think of secession.

"It is, politically a very sensitive moment for Iraq. With different ethnic and religious identities - Kurds and Turkmen in the north, Sunnis in the centre and Shia in the south, many fear an implosion of Iraq.

"These kind of political games just add fuel to the fire."

CPA South officials say the quicker economic and political development of 'the British zone', governed by a multinational team of mostly European countries, is seen by US leaders in Baghdad as bad PR for America.

"They are concerned that it would be seen as though America is messing around in their sector, while the Europeans are doing much better in theirs. Of course, they don't like this," one official said.

"And now they want the 18 provinces to report to Baghdad. This is crazy. We replaced one centrally-planned system with another one."

The monopoly of one American company, Bechtel, over the reconstruction of Iraq, is also coming under fire.

"There is no free trade, no competition. Iraq's economy is as closed as during Saddam's time. How can they justify that nobody is allowed to do business in Iraq, apart from some American companies?

"If it carries on this way, it will be an economic Vietnam," the CPA official said.

The riots in Basrah on 9-10 August, when British troops were fired upon and gave fire in return, were a warning that Iraqis are running out of patience. If everyday life does not improve quickly, they will rebel against the occupiers and claim the power to take decisions oftheir own.

"After 30 years of wars and poverty, Iraqis - who are blessed with one of the richest countries in the region - are on the edge.

"The danger is that if we fail, and our Tower of Babel falls, we could not help but think of the destruction of those other towers, the Twin Towers in New York," one Danish official warned.

Part of a special feature on Iraq.