US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith says the Defense Department is creating the Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Representative to support the reconstruction efforts in Iraq, reported Washington File.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon July 18, Feith said the CPA Representative Office will be staffed by all US government departments and agencies involved in the reconstruction of Iraq. The office "will serve as a convenient portal" for businesses, non-governmental organizations, universities and other groups to interface with the provisional authority led by Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, Feith said.
"As we look forward to more involvement in Iraq by non-governmental entities such as businesses, NGO's and charitable groups, the existence of a convenient portal is all the more important," Feith said.
The commission said seven major areas need immediate attention: the coalition must establish public safety in all parts of the country, Iraqi ownership of the rebuilding process must be expanded at national, provincial and local levels, idle hands must be put to work and basic economic and social services provided immediately to avoid exacerbating political and security problems.
In addition, a decentralization is essential because the job facing occupation and Iraqi authorities is too big to be handled exclusively by the central occupying authority and national Iraqi Governing Council. The coalition must facilitate a profound change in the Iraqi national frame of mind -- from centralized authority to significant freedoms. The United States needs to quickly mobilize a new reconstruction coalition that is significantly broader than the coalition that waged the war. Money must be significantly more forthcoming and more flexible. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
