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03 April 2003

Powell: Rebuilding Iraq Will Require International Community

(Secretary briefs at NATO headquarters in Brussels) (550)
The work of reconstructing and rebuilding Iraq will require the entire
international community working together, Secretary of State Colin
Powell said April 3 during a press conference following meetings with
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ministers and European Union
officials in Brussels.
After briefing foreign ministers from the 19 NATO countries on the
progress of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Powell told reporters the
campaign is progressing well, humanitarian aid is starting to enter
Iraq, and the southern part of the country has been declared a secure
area so that U.N. organizations can begin their work.
"And with each passing day, Iraqi forces become weaker, coalition
forces become stronger," added Powell. "A very skilled campaign is
being waged, and we all hope that it will come to an end soon, and it
is an end that will certainly be successful."
The secretary said he came to Brussels to discuss the future of a new
Iraq in the "post-hostilities period." Powell said that initially a
coalition military commander would be responsible for stabilizing and
securing post-conflict Iraq, but that the United States plans to
establish an interim Iraqi authority as soon as possible.
"As the interim authority develops capability," Powell added,
"responsibility will be passed to them to make decisions about the
future of Iraq and how Iraq will be governed and how it will be led
and how it will be administered."
"The people of Iraq deserve a government that is responsive to their
needs, that reflects all of the dreams and hopes and aspirations of
the Iraqi people. And it is our obligation, the obligation of the
coalition, the obligation of the international community, the
obligation of all of us, to make sure that that hope is not deferred
or not defeated," he said.
Questioned about the political reconstruction of Iraq, Powell said
that "ultimately, the Iraqis themselves have to create their own
government" but that the interim authority must be a government
representative of all Iraqis and one that preserves Iraq's territorial
integrity.
"I believe that the kind of interim authority that we want to create
and the kind of government we want to see rise up would be a
government that would contain individuals who have fought long and
hard for many years outside of the country for the liberation of Iraq,
as well as individuals within the country who recognize the damage
that Saddam Hussein has done to the country and who are willing to
participate in a new form of government to provide a new life for
Iraq," said Powell.
In response to a question, Powell said he hopes United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan will soon appoint a coordinator who can
work with the coalition and Iraqi interim authority when it is created
to "supervise the flow of humanitarian aid coming from U.N.
organizations and also serve as the eyes and ears of the U.N. in the
area."
Regarding the role of the United Nations in the post-conflict period,
Powell said the U.N. must play a role but that the "nature of that
role and how it is to be played remains to be seen."
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)