11 April 2003
First Meeting on Future of Iraq Set for April 15 in Nasiriyah
(State Department Report April 11: Future of Iraq meeting) (630) By Christine Johnson Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The first in a series of regional meetings on the future of Iraq is scheduled to take place April 15 in the city of Nasiriyah, Iraq, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher says. At the April 11 daily briefing at the State Department, Boucher described the meetings as "a forum for Iraqis to discuss their vision of the future and their ideas regarding the Iraqi interim authority." He said the hope is that they will culminate in a nationwide conference in Baghdad, although he declined to give a time frame for the larger session. "It depends, obviously, on the military situation, on the security situation, on how quickly Iraqis are able to speak out in different places, how quickly Iraqis are able to start considering their own future in different parts of the country," Boucher said. "You can't have a national conference until people from the whole nation can attend." As to who will be attending the meeting in Nasiriyah on April 15, Boucher mentioned "liberated Iraqis" from newly freed areas of the country, and members of the Iraqi opposition "including representatives from the Future of Iraq Project" who have been working with the U.S. government. He said he did not have many details and so was not sure if the United Nations had been invited to attend. The U.S. delegation will be led by President Bush's special envoy to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad. Although the overall purpose of the meeting is known, Boucher said to what extent any given subject would be discussed "will probably depend on the participants, the Iraqis." On the pressing issue of policing, Boucher said the Bush administration has asked the U.S. Congress for funding to send approximately 1,000 police and judicial officials "to go out and help the Iraqis reestablish security and order in their towns and cities." They will conduct assessments, provide advice, and help people get organized, he said, but "they're not cops on the beat, ... we're not going to do the policing of Iraqi cities." At the same time, Boucher said, the United States has been discussing the issue with a number of other governments, and many of them "have indicated a willingness to consider a military role or a police role." On management of Iraq's oil resources. Boucher said the immediate focus is on humanitarian assistance, but that "at the appropriate time, the needs of the oil sector will be addressed." He added that for the moment, coalition forces have secured the oil fields in the south and north, preventing an environmental disaster. As the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank get under way in Washington April 12-13, talk has begun about forgiving Iraq's foreign debts, and Boucher said the issue has arisen frequently in Secretary of State Colin Powell's discussions with foreign officials. "It's been a long time since Iraq has been paying any of its debt. And there are international mechanisms for dealing with those situations that we would expect at the appropriate time the international community might use," he said. The State Department spokesman said there is a lot of work to do in Iraq. "[I]f we all focus on the future of Iraq, for the sake of the Iraqi people, what we can do to help them get their economy going again, get their government organized, get a political structure that's representative, get rid of their weapons of mass destruction, live in peace with their people and their neighbors, ... we all can contribute to that. ... If that's the focus, there will be plenty of areas for cooperation," Boucher said. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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