*EPF107 04/14/2003
Byliner: Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq
(Op-ed by U.S. Ambassador to India Robert D. Blackwill) (980)

The following op-ed by U.S. Ambassador to India Robert D. Blackwill was published in New Delhi in the April 10 edition of "Business Standard."

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Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq
By U.S. Ambassador to India Robert D. Blackwill

To stave off human deprivation in Iraq, the United States government is mounting one of the largest humanitarian assistance programs in American history. From one end of the country to the other, ordinary Iraqis increasingly know that help is on the way. Humanitarian conditions have deteriorated badly in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and the subsequent cynical manipulation by Saddam of the UN's Oil-for-Food Program. Now that Iraq is nearly liberated from the misery imposed on it for over two decades by its brutal and repressive clique of leaders, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), in close cooperation with international relief agencies and non governmental organizations, is making available massive humanitarian supplies to save Iraqi lives and alleviate suffering.

President Bush has made humanitarian relief for the ordinary people of Iraq a preeminent priority. US Marines in Iraq have already begun to fulfill the President's solemn promise. An-Nasiriyah had been without water for two weeks when the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived there on April 3. A detachment of Marines immediately set up equipment that could purify thousands of gallons of water from the Euphrates River. By the end of the day, Marines had dispensed more than 10,000 gallons of water to the city. More permanent relief should arrive soon. Coalition partners have built a new pipeline in Southern Iraq that will furnish 2.3 million liters of water per day.

The new Iraq faces other humanitarian challenges. It must restore electricity to cities, ensure the availability of medicine, and lend a hand to internally displaced people to find food, water and shelter. The Bush Administration and its nearly fifty Coalition partners will take crucial steps on all of these tribulations, as well as reinforcing comprehensive international involvement. America has given $206 million to humanitarian groups such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent, UNICEF, the UNHCR, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to bolster their labors. USAID has also pre-positioned emergency supplies in the region worth a total of $16.3 million, including: 161,900 blankets, 39,878 hygiene kits, 7,990 rolls of plastic sheeting, 67,100 water containers, 67 water tanks and six water treatment units.

Much more relief is on the way. In the first instance, America is sending 610,000 metric tons of food, worth over $300 million, to feed the people of Iraq. As an element in this endeavor, on April 1 and 3, the United States dispatched two separate shipments of 28,500 metric tons of wheat from Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas to Iraq. This initial delivery is enough to feed 4.5 million Iraqis (one-quarter of the population) for one month. To help increase the available food supply, an additional $260 million is being made available by the Bush Administration to the UN World Food Program for food distribution and logistical support.

To date, USAID funding for Iraq in this fiscal year totals almost 500 million dollars. This is a good start, but America is also considering Iraq's longer-term needs. These can be broken down, but are not limited to, the following categories:

Restoring Critical Infrastructure: Enduring US assistance will be a part of the rehabilitation of significant Iraqi infrastructure to help maintain stability, ensure the delivery of essential services, and facilitate economic recovery. Iraq's roads and ports must be rebuilt to meet the requirements of a modern society. Potable water and sanitation services will be reestablished to reduce disease. Outside help will also restore electrical power to health and educational facilities, water supply hubs, and important infrastructure that contributes to the local economy.

Supporting Essential Health and Education Services: Coalition funding will restore basic health care services and focus on strengthening the national education system. Programming will include delivering essential drugs, equipment, and supplies to health care facilities. Education aid will increase access to primary and secondary public education for Iraqi children, promote retention of students in the classroom, strengthen school administration, and develop re-entry programs for out-of-school youth.

Expanding Economic Opportunity: The US and other international donors will promote a competitive private sector, generate employment opportunities, and improve agricultural productivity. Activities will include extending credit to small businesses and developing training programs for workers. Agricultural backing will assist the supply of the spring and winter planting season, address livestock and poultry diseases, and instruct farmers in the use of modern agricultural technologies.

The US government's resolve to help Iraqis rebuild deteriorated schools, water systems, hospitals and other aspects of their country will require respect, skill, speed and strength. The Bush Administration will cooperate closely with its Coalition associates and many private, public and international groups to accomplish these tasks.

As President Bush has made clear, the United Nations certainly has a vital role to play in this humanitarian relief effort.

Americans will not stand by and watch Iraqis go hungry, drink foul water or be deprived of medicine. That would be profoundly inconsistent with the kind of liberated Iraq -- free from Weapons of Mass Destruction -- that Coalition soldiers are now fighting for. The United States and its Allies are committed to serving the people of Iraq as they build better lives for themselves, and together we will strive to do that as rapidly as possible.

In his radio address of April 4, President Bush made the point succinctly. "In recent days, we have brought food and water and medicine to the Iraqi people. We're delivering emergency rations to the hungry ... and we are bringing something more: we are bringing hope."

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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