Iraq

Donations to rebuild Iraq climb to $13-billion

MADRID - The United States, completing an extraordinary campaign for economic aid to Iraq, won commitments on Friday of at least $13-billion over five years for reconstruction of water, power, health care and other systems devastated by the U.S. invasion six months ago.

The total surpassed what many had expected, although roughly two-thirds of the aid appeared to be in the form of loans rather than grants. The loan offerings may complicate efforts by the Bush administration to beat back a drive in Congress to make more U.S. aid in the form of loans.

Administration officials have said repeatedly that Iraq needs grants and cannot afford to add to its debt.

Secretary of State Colin Powell hailed the $13-billion sum as larger than the Bush administration expected only a few weeks ago, when Powell said some colleagues were considering whether to call off the meeting of donors here.

"But here we are, and we've had a very successful conference," Powell said, adding that the estimated total was at the "low end."

Some donors apparently pledged sums that they had already announced and transmitted earlier. Others included import credits, relief assistance - including $500,000 worth of rice from Vietnam - or other items not on the list of reconstruction and security needs.

Most of the grant money came from Japan, which put up $1.5-billion for next year, and Europeans, including members of the wartime "coalition of the willing," such as England, Spain and Italy.

Most loans come not from countries but from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which will most likely have to negotiate the terms of their aid along with a plan to reschedule and perhaps forgive at least some of Iraq's existing $120-billion in debts, according to World Bank officials.

While much of the money will be offered as loans, interest rates and repayment schedules will be highly favorable to Iraq, the U.S. official said. Loans, he added, will supply quick infusions of cash to get construction projects going quickly.

The aid will be combined with an expected $20-billion in U.S. grants, bringing the total for reconstruction to $33-billion, far less than the goal of $56-billion.

Representatives of 77 countries and 20 groups met in a Madrid convention center.

BAGHDAD - A mortar attack killed two American soldiers and wounded four others Friday at an outpost north of Baghdad, and a third American died in a gunbattle in the northern city of Mosul, the U.S. military said.

The mortar attack occurred about noon at a 4th Infantry Division forward operating base near Samara, 70 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. Central Command said.

It was the second mortar attack against a 4th Infantry Division position in as many days. Late Thursday, 13 soldiers from the division were wounded when a mortar struck a hangar at the U.S. Camp War Horse near Baqouba, 40 miles northeast of Baghdad.

The 4th Infantry is responsible for security in a large swath of territory in northern Iraq and has suffered more attacks than any other U.S. command in Iraq, according to American officials in Baghdad.

In Mosul, a soldier from the 101st Airborne Division was killed during a gunbattle before dawn Friday with armed men who attacked a grain storage facility, the military said.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq on May 1, 108 U.S. soldiers have been killed by hostile fire.

The latest string of attacks occurred just two days after Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said attacks on U.S. forces were increasing throughout the country. Coalition officials said attacks on troops now average 26 a day, compared with less than 20 a day two months ago.

BAGHDAD - Iraq's U.S. overseers said Friday that they would lift the nighttime curfew on Baghad's 5-million residents beginning Sunday, to accommodate the country's Muslims during Ramadan and demonstrate that the country is returning to normal despite the persistent armed resistance to the occupation.

The announcement coincided with the arrival in Iraq on Friday of Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, whose itinerary was choreographed to highlight successes that the Bush administration complains have been ignored.

Military commanders have instructed soldiers to keep a low profile during the month of Ramadan out of respect for religious sensibilities.

But they also warned that Ramadan could bring an increase in attacks, either from religious militants who associate the period with heralded acts of martyrdom or from guerrilla fighters.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright