Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=9-4-03

TYPE=INTERVIEW

NUMBER=3-785

TITLE=JENNINGS-IRAQ

BYLINE=DAVID BORGIDA

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

INTRO: Is there progress in Iraq? How do the citizens there feel about an increase in international peacekeepers? Ray Jennings, a Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, has just returned from a fact-finding trip to Iraq and shares his observations on the reconstruction of the country's infrastructure, but more importantly, the sense of security felt by the public. He spoke with David Borgida on VOA's NewsLine program.

MR. BORGIDA:

And now joining us, Ray Jennings, a Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He is just back in the United States from a trip to Iraq. Thanks for being with us and sharing some of your reflections. And that's initially what I'd like to ask you about, your sense of how the average Iraqis are viewing the sense of security in their country.

MR. JENNINGS

Well, David, thanks for having me on the show.

When we talk about security in Iraq, there's a variety of different kinds of concerns. The military certainly has security concerns. The average Iraqi has certainly specific security concerns. NGO workers and assistance workers have different security concerns. And security for each one of those groups has worsened over the summer.

The military obviously is finding it more dangerous to be on the streets, and especially in certain parts of Iraq. The citizens of Iraq are finding that organized crime and opportunistic crime has certainly entrenched itself over the last 90 days, and will eventually become very hard to root out. And as we have seen over the last 30 days, and especially over the last two weeks, assistance providers have begun to reassess whether they can do their work in the country.

MR. BORGIDA

They're more fearful.

MR. JENNINGS

They are more fearful. And since the bombing of the U.N. compound, many NGO -- nongovernmental associations and relief organizations -- are reassessing whether or not they have the freedom of movement and the security environment to actually carry out their mandate and do the work that they're there to do.

MR. BORGIDA

In the face of this -- you just heard our report -- there is a lot of discussion about multinational forces, other countries, that the United States would like to see pitching in and helping out on the ground. Is that, as far as you can tell having been there for a while, a significant point or will that make very little difference, given what you've described?

MR. JENNINGS

I think it will be vital for additional troops to be on the ground, but not just any kind of troops. What's really needed are troops who have training in cultural sensitivity; in particular military police, civil affairs officers, the kind of troops who are more skilled at interaction in sensitive environments and in environments of questionable security than "boots on the ground" who know how to fire artillery and to drive tanks.

MR. BORGIDA

But my question I guess more specifically is, must they be non-Americans to be effective?

MR. JENNINGS

I found it quite interesting, traveling around Iraq, in that, as an unarmed civilian I was welcomed in even the most dangerous parts of Iraq, brought into homes and fed and told stories and essentially embraced as an individual, as a guest. But a very clear distinction was made in many of the places I visited between a civilian who was unarmed and someone who was armed and was part of a military presence. And the Iraqis I did speak to didn't make a distinction between whether it was an American with a gun or a Polish soldier with a gun; all forces who were there to carry out the occupation mandate, in my mind, in my sense from having traveled there, would be viewed in the same way. So I don't think that bringing in international forces is going to engender any greater goodwill.

MR. BORGIDA

Outside of Baghdad you did travel some. Give us a sense of the state of play, in electricity, infrastructure and so on.

MR. JENNINGS

Well, the basic services are absolutely an issue and they continue to be an issue. Even the progress that has been made by the provisional authority often is negated within weeks by sabotage and continued looting. All in all, there continues to be slow progress, but the security environment, which can keep the kind of improvements in electrical substations and wastewater plants and water distribution systems intact, really needs to be consolidated. And that's where some more troops on the ground can make a fundamental difference.

MR. BORGIDA

A fascinating first-person insight, and we appreciate your presence here. Ray Jennings, a Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace here in Washington, back, as he said at the top, from quite a long period inside Iraq. Thanks so much for your insight. We appreciate your time.

MR. JENNINGS

Thank you, David.

U.S. Institute of Peace

http://www.usip.org/

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