Countries Resist Aid To Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/washpost/20030902/pl_washpost/a11848_2003sep1&cid=1803&ncid=1480

The Bush administration's effort to secure significant pledges of money to help rebuild Iraq is meeting stiff resistance from many foreign governments because of continued concerns over security and the predominant role played by the United States, according to diplomats and aid officials.

The concerns, which were fueled by the Aug. 19 bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad and continuing doubts about the politics of the U.S. occupation, have dramatically lowered expectations for a donors conference scheduled for October. Some U.N. officials are asking whether the meeting in Madrid should be postponed until the United Nations can reinforce its team in Iraq and reach a more solid understanding with the Bush administration over the world body's role in the battered country.

The implications for U.S. taxpayers could prove significant. With postwar Iraqi revenue running lower than the administration anticipated and expenses running much higher, the administration is seeking significant help from outside. L. Paul Bremer, the coordinator of the U.S.-led occupation, said in an interview last week that "several tens of billions of dollars" will be needed in the coming year alone.

France is the most prominent country that opposes endorsing the existing occupation or substantially underwriting Iraq's expenses. But many other countries are also showing a "reluctance that is not just unfortunate, it's disgraceful," said a senior foreign diplomat in New York, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said potential donors were in a "wait-and-see mode."

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