Reconstruction part of surge lags; jobs & peace linked, study says
"Senior military officers . . . have told President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that the new Iraq strategy could fail unless more civilian agencies step forward quickly to carry out plans for reconstruction and political development.
. . . Mr. Gates said Tuesday that Ms. [Condoleezza] Rice had told him that her department needed six months to locate and prepare civil servants and contractors to send abroad.
. . . [F]rom the standpoint of personal security, taking those jobs — many of them, by definition, outside the relative safety of the Green Zone — is widely seen as an unattractive career option.
. . . Tasia Scolinos, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department . . . provided a fact sheet that showed that the Justice Department had 200 employees and contractors in Iraq as of last August." [1]
"The State Department has asked the Pentagon for 129 people to fill slots in 'business development, agribusiness, medicine, city management' and other areas for 10 new provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs), according to David Satterfield, [Condoleezza] Rice's coordinator for Iraq, who spoke to reporters in an afternoon briefing.
Deployments will last at least six months until Congress provides supplemental funding to pay for private contractors. The State Department has already filled its own slots on the new teams with 19 Foreign Service officers, Satterfield said, adding that the department is actively engaged in identifying appropriate contractors. The Agency for International Development will also supply personnel, he said.
. . . The administration has asked Congress for $538 million in supplemental funds to pay for the program. The PRTs, which are projected to be up and running by the end of next month, will be housed with U.S. military combat brigades." [2]
. . . [A] recent classified study, conducted by the Joint Warfare Analysis Center of the Defense Department . . . found that a 2 percent increase in job satisfaction among Iraqis in Baghdad correlated to a 30 percent decline in attacks on allied forces and a 17 percent decrease in civilian deaths from sectarian violence." [1]
source
[1] Shanker, Thom & Cloud, David S. (The New York Times). Military Wants More Civilians to Help in Iraq. February 7, 2007.
[2] DeYoung, Karen. (The Washington Post). Military Must Fill Iraq Civilian Jobs. February 8, 2007.
posted: friday, february 9, 2007, 10:06 PM ET
update: saturday, february 10, 2007, 11:37 PM ET
tags: iraq reconstruction surge
. . . Mr. Gates said Tuesday that Ms. [Condoleezza] Rice had told him that her department needed six months to locate and prepare civil servants and contractors to send abroad.
. . . [F]rom the standpoint of personal security, taking those jobs — many of them, by definition, outside the relative safety of the Green Zone — is widely seen as an unattractive career option.
. . . Tasia Scolinos, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department . . . provided a fact sheet that showed that the Justice Department had 200 employees and contractors in Iraq as of last August." [1]
"The State Department has asked the Pentagon for 129 people to fill slots in 'business development, agribusiness, medicine, city management' and other areas for 10 new provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs), according to David Satterfield, [Condoleezza] Rice's coordinator for Iraq, who spoke to reporters in an afternoon briefing.
Deployments will last at least six months until Congress provides supplemental funding to pay for private contractors. The State Department has already filled its own slots on the new teams with 19 Foreign Service officers, Satterfield said, adding that the department is actively engaged in identifying appropriate contractors. The Agency for International Development will also supply personnel, he said.
. . . The administration has asked Congress for $538 million in supplemental funds to pay for the program. The PRTs, which are projected to be up and running by the end of next month, will be housed with U.S. military combat brigades." [2]
. . . [A] recent classified study, conducted by the Joint Warfare Analysis Center of the Defense Department . . . found that a 2 percent increase in job satisfaction among Iraqis in Baghdad correlated to a 30 percent decline in attacks on allied forces and a 17 percent decrease in civilian deaths from sectarian violence." [1]
source
[1] Shanker, Thom & Cloud, David S. (The New York Times). Military Wants More Civilians to Help in Iraq. February 7, 2007.
[2] DeYoung, Karen. (The Washington Post). Military Must Fill Iraq Civilian Jobs. February 8, 2007.
posted: friday, february 9, 2007, 10:06 PM ET
update: saturday, february 10, 2007, 11:37 PM ET
tags: iraq reconstruction surge
Labels: bush plan, condoleezza rice, david satterfield, iraq, reconstruction board, robert gates
posted by eric at 9:33 PM
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