Rows brew over post-war Iraq

Rows brew over post-war Iraq

By Mark Davies BBC News Online political reporter

Debate over post-war Iraq is well under way

Even as the bombs continue to fall over Baghdad, the lines are being drawn over the role of the United Nations in post-war Iraq.

Again, the potential dispute is over UN resolutions. Again, it is likely to be fought between the US and those European countries opposing the war - with France at the forefront. Again, the French could threaten to veto the plans.

And just as before the conflict began, the UK could find itself having to choose between the US and Europe.

On one thing, all are agreed: the UN should play a key role in post-war Iraq.

US President George W Bush has said the UN will have an important role once the conflict is over. The UK has outlined proposals for at least two UN resolutions on post-war Iraq. French President Jacques Chirac has also said the UN has an important role to play.

France will not accept a resolution...giving the American and English belligerents powers over the administration of Iraq

Jacques Chirac

But the devil is in the detail. The Pentagon, for instance, is said to view the UN's role as purely humanitarian, preferring to see the task of rebuilding Iraq given a distinctly US-led flavour.

That latter view has raised questions about whether the US would have any legal right to administer the country without a UN resolution.

Authority

Indeed, International Development Secretary Clare Short said this week that a new resolution was "an absolute legal requirement".

The two UN resolutions being proposed by the UK would firstly deal with the immediate humanitarian issues, including giving the UN authority over the oil-for-food programme in Iraq.

A second resolution would provide authority for the reconstruction and development of Iraq and give a mandate for an interim administration following war.

But according to some reports, Ms Short had a fruitless trip to the US last week in trying to win backing for a UN resolution on reconstructing Iraq.

She warned of "bleak" prospects for Iraq without a UN mandate for the reconstruction of Iraq.

She insisted in the Commons on Monday, however, that "good progress" had been made.

President Chirac, meanwhile, said last week he viewed any such resolution as "justifying the war after the event" - and appeared to warn that France would veto any resolution giving the US and UK the authority to run post-war Iraq.

If we are to persuade the Iraqi people that this is a war against a cruel repressive dictator...we must genuinely liberate the people of Iraq

Caroline Spelman
Conservative spokeswoman

"France will not accept a resolution tending to legitimise the military intervention and giving the American and English belligerents powers over the administration of Iraq," he said.

The French president also says there are differences within the European Union about what role the EU should play in reconstructing Iraq.

At the UN, meanwhile, planning has started for a UN administration in Iraq such as that currently in operation in Kosovo.

According to a leaked report, the mission "would provide political facilitation, consensus-building, national reconciliation and the promotion of democratic governance and the rule of law".

Workforce

But the US wants retired general Jay Garner to head a post-war US military administration for up to a year.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on 17 March, this would involve the rebuilding of roads, schools and power plants, the construction of new hospitals, the creation of a fully operative central bank and finance ministry and the restoration of commercial air links.

Rows are brewing as the military action goes on

The US says it would pay the salaries of regular Iraqi army units for reconstruction work and bring in "free Iraqis" from outside the country to run ministries.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is reported to have invited US companies to bid for more than $1bn (£640m) worth of contracts.

UK ministers say UK firms had been given assurances that they would be able to bid for subcontracts for up to 50% of the work.

Foreign Office minister Mike O'Brien said last week: "USAID assured me that the country that it works with most effectively is Britain, and that the department that it works with most effectively is DFID (the international development department).

Concern

"So British companies currently operating with DFID and other government departments will be able to undertake, and to bid for, contracts through the American companies."

Britain failed to get agreement at the UN for war, but we must not fail to get agreement on the peace

Liberal Democrat spokeswoman Jenny Tonge

But there has been criticism over the amount of work being offered to US companies rather than non-governmental organisations, aid agencies or the UN.

Aid agencies are also concerned about the prospect of US soldiers delivering aid because they say it could compromise their neutrality and lead to them being seen as part of a "belligerent force".

"We want to work under the auspices of the UN and not under the auspices of the military," said Oxfam director Barbara Stocking.

"It is very important that we are seen to be impartial - we do not want to be seen as part of the war effort."

Critical

The differences over the possible future make-up of Iraq are set to dominate the political arguments already brewing in the UK.

Tony Blair was quizzed on the issue on Monday and backed the potential UN role in Iraq while also urging Europe to "come together and work together on this".

That feeling was echoed by Clare Short, who said international rifts needed to end in order to clear the way for a UN resolution on reconstruction - particularly as World Bank and IMF involvement in plans require a UN mandate.

For their part, the Tories, while offering unreserved support for the military action, have been critical of the government's preparations for post-war Iraq, with spokeswoman Caroline Spelman highlighting the concerns of aid agencies.

She told MPs last week that there was a lack of co-ordination over aid efforts and that it was unclear who would lead the humanitarian effort in Iraq.

And at her party's spring conference this month, she warned: "If we are to persuade the Iraqi people that this is a war against a cruel repressive dictator, and not a war against them, or a war against Islam, we must genuinely liberate the people of Iraq.

"Unless we provide aid and assistance to the Iraqi people we may win the war and lose the peace."

The Liberal Democrats have echoed those concerns and said a UN agreement on reconstruction is vital.

Spokeswoman Jenny Tonge said: "To win any peace in a way that is acceptable to Iraq's people and neighbours, it is imperative that the United Nations leads the humanitarian and political reconstruction of Iraq.

"Britain failed to get agreement at the UN for war, but we must not fail to get agreement on the peace."