09 October 2003
Bremer Cites Progress as Baghdad Marks 6 Months of Liberation
Most, but not all that has happened since then is good, he says
Six months to the day after U.S. forces liberated Baghdad, more than 13,000 reconstruction projects "large and small" have been completed, according to Ambassador Paul Bremer.
At a Baghdad press conference October 9, Bremer, the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), said "[m]ost, but not all, of what has happened since then is good." He focused on the four elements of the coalition's strategic plan for Iraq, citing examples of progress for each. The four elements are security, restoring essential services, and economic and democratic transformation.
Six months ago, Bremer noted, there were no police on duty in Iraq. Now there are more than 40,000 on duty, with almost 7,000 in Baghdad alone, he said. The first battalion of the new Iraqi army has graduated and is on active duty, part of 60,000 Iraqis providing security, he said.
Electrical power generation was 300 megawatts in April, but on October 6 Iraq generated 4,518 megawatts of electricity, Bremer said. Also, all 22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open now; six months ago nearly all were closed, he said.
Economically, Iraq's "economy was flat on its back" in April, Bremer said, and all banks were closed. Now Iraqi banks are open and loaning funds, the central bank is fully independent and "one of the world's most growth-oriented investment and banking laws" is in effect, he said.
As for democracy, there is no longer a Ministry of Information serving as a check on free expression, more than 170 newspapers are being published, and journalists and average citizens are free to travel, Bremer said. In Baghdad alone, he added, there are 88 advisory councils, all elected by local residents.
Following is the transcript of Bremer's remarks:
(begin unofficial transcript)
Ambassador L. Paul Bremer
Coalition Provisional Authority Administrator
Opening Remarks at Press Conference
9 October 2003
Six months ago today Coalition Forces liberated Baghdad. I am sure that many of you were as thrilled as I was to see Saddam's statue and his regime fall.
Most, but not all, of what has happened since then is good.
The Coalition has completed over 13,000 reconstruction projects, large and small, as part of our strategic plan for the reconstruction of Iraq. That plan has four elements:
-- Create a Secure Environment.
-- Begin Restoration of Essential Services.
-- Begin to Transform the Economy.
-- Begin the Transformation to Democracy.
Before taking your questions I would like to review briefly some of the progress in each of these areas.
CREATE A SECURE ENVIRONMENT.
Six months ago there were no police on duty in Iraq.
-- Today there are over 40,000 police on duty, nearly 7,000 here in Baghdad alone.
-- Last night Coalition Forces and Iraqi police conducted 1,731 joint patrols.
Six months ago those elements of Saddam's military that had not been destroyed in combat had buried their airplanes and melted away.
-- Today the first battalion of the new Iraqi Army has graduated and is on active duty.
-- Across the country over 60,000 Iraqis now provide security to their fellow citizens.
Six months ago there were no functioning courts in Iraq.
-- Today nearly all of Iraq's 400 courts are functioning.
-- Today, for the first time in over a generation, the Iraqi judiciary is fully independent.
As today's events have made clear, much remains to be done to establish an acceptable security environment. Even so, things have improved enough to ease the curfew in Baghdad to only four hours.
BEGIN RESTORATION OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES.
Six months ago the entire country could generate a bare 300 megawatts of electricity.
-- On Monday, October 6, power generation hit 4,518 megawatts -- exceeding the pre-war average....
-- If we get the funding the president has requested in his emergency budget, we expect to produce enough electricity for all Iraqis to have electrical service 24 hours daily -- something essential to their hopes for the future.
Six months ago nearly all of Iraq's schools were closed.
-- Today all 22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open, as are nearly all primary and secondary schools.
-- Many of you know that we announced our plan to rehabilitate 1,000 schools by the time school started -- well, by October 1 we had actually rehabbed over 1,500.
Six months ago teachers were paid as little as $5.33 per month.
-- Today teachers earn from 12 to 25 times their former salaries.
Six months ago the public health system was an empty shell. During the 1990's Saddam cut spending on public health by over 90 percent, with predictable results for the lives of his citizens.
-- Today we have increased public health spending to over 26 times what it was under Saddam.
-- Today all 240 hospitals and more than 1,200 clinics are open.
-- Today doctors' salaries are at least eight times what they were under Saddam.
-- Pharmaceutical distribution has gone from essentially nothing to 700 tons in May to a current total of 12,000 tons.
-- Since liberation we have administered over 22 million vaccination doses to Iraq's children.
Six months ago three-quarters of Iraq's 27,000 kilometers of irrigation canals were weed-choked and barely functional.
-- Today a Coalition program has cleared over 14,000 kilometers of those canals. They now irrigate tens of thousands of farms. This project has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi men and women.
Additionally, we have restored over three-quarters of pre-war telephone services and over two-thirds of the potable water production.
Before the war there were 4,500 Internet connections and important services, such as instant messaging were forbidden.
-- Today there are 4,900 full-service connections.
-- We expect 50,000 by January first.
BEGIN TO TRANSFORM THE ECONOMY.
Six months ago Iraq's economy was flat on its back.
-- Today anyone walking the streets can see the wheels of commerce turning. From bicycles to satellite dishes to cars and trucks, businesses are coming to life in all major cities and towns.
Six months ago all banks were closed.
-- Today 95 percent of all pre-war bank customers have service and first-time customers are opening accounts daily.
-- Today Iraqi banks are making loans to finance businesses.
-- Today the central bank is fully independent.
-- Today Iraq has one of the world's most growth-oriented investment and banking laws.
Six months ago Iraq had two currencies.
-- Next week Iraq will get a single, unified currency for the first time in 15 years.
BEGIN THE TRANSFORMATION TO DEMOCRACY.
Six months ago there was no freedom of expression. Satellite dishes were illegal. Foreign journalists came on 10-day visas and paid mandatory and extortionate fees to the Ministry of Information for "minders" and other government spies.
-- Today there is no Ministry of Information.
-- Today there are more than 170 newspapers.
-- Today you can buy satellite dishes on what seems like every street corner.
-- Today foreign journalists and everyone else are free to come and go.
Six months ago Iraq had not one single element -- legislative, judicial or executive -- of a representative government.
-- Today in Baghdad alone residents have selected 88 advisory councils. Baghdad's first democratic transfer of power in 35 years happened when the city council elected its new chairman.
-- Today in Iraq chambers of commerce, business, school and professional organizations are electing their leaders all over the country.
-- Today 25 ministers, selected by the most representative governing body in Iraq's history, run the day-to-day business of government.
-- Today the Iraqi government regularly participates in international events. Since July the Iraqi government has been represented in over two dozen international meetings, including those of the U.N. General Assembly, the Arab League, the World Bank and IMF and, today, the Islamic Conference Summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today announced that it is reopening over 30 Iraqi embassies around the world.
Six months ago Shia religious festivals were all but banned.
-- Today, for the first time in 35 years, in Karbala thousands of Shiites celebrate the pilgrimage of the 12th Imam.
In six short months we have accomplished a lot.
We are also aware that the progress we have made is only a beginning. A quarter century of negligence, cronyism and war mongering have devastated this country. Such profound damage cannot be repaired overnight.
Bringing Iraq up to minimum self-sufficiency will require the full $20 billion the president has asked of Congress in his supplemental budget request.
We are fighting terrorism here and we will continue to fight it until it no longer threatens the hopes of Iraqis, the hopes of the world.
The importance and urgency of this task was underscored for all of us today when terrorists car-bombed a police station and assassinated a Spanish diplomat.
As the president just said, "We will wage the war on terror until it is won."
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=October&x=20031009182453ynnedd0.1710016&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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