Senators rap White House on Iraq’s economy

By Vicki Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
said on Tuesday it will take decades to rebuild Iraq’s
infrastructure as senators charged the Bush administration had
fumbled reconstruction efforts, slowing a U.S. military
withdrawal.

Rumsfeld was defending the Pentagon’s $439 billion budget
request for next year before senators on the Armed Services
Committee.

Contrary to forecasts of administration officials before
the March 2003 invasion, Rumsfeld said, “It’s going to take
decades” for Iraq “to get the infrastructure back to where a
modern country would have it.”

The senators also questioned Pentagon officials on progress
in training Iraqi forces, which the administration says is key
for withdrawing U.S. troops.

Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, said there still is just one battalion able to
operate independently, and 60 capable of taking the lead in
operations, with support of U.S. forces.

Senators generally backed the plan to boost the Pentagon’s
budget by nearly 7 percent to $439 billion. In addition, the
White House said it will seek another $70 billion this year for
the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and $50 billion early next year.
That would bring the wars’ cost to $440 billion, with costs
expected near $500 billion by next year’s end.

In unusually harsh criticism, Virginia Republican Sen. John
Warner, the committee chairman, said the White House has
“failed to bring together all of the resources necessary” to
improve Iraq’s economy and stem the joblessness that he said is
fueling the rampant violence and corruption.

Warner said former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz
“opined at one time” that Iraq’s oil production would pay for
most of its rebuilding costs, but instead Warner noted that
Iraq’s “oil production is slipping.”

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat, said he was
“troubled by the suggestions” that the White House would not
seek new rebuilding money for Iraq on top of the $20 billion so
far. “You can cut and run economically as well as you can
militarily,” he said.

Warner said living conditions must improve through a better
infrastructure to stabilize the country, or “it’s going to
obscure the gains that have been made.”

But Rumsfeld said it was up to Iraqis to rebuild their own
country to avoid “creating a dependency.”

Pace said the U.S. government should make various
nonmilitary agencies work together more efficiently and deploy
personnel overseas to help in rebuilding.

“General, those are nice words. We’ve been at this thing
over two years now,” Warner replied.

After the hearing, Warner told reporters he was considering
legislation to force cooperation among federal agencies,
similar to legislation that integrated the workings of the
military branches.

Rumsfeld also fended off senators’ complaints about his
plans to restructure the Army National Guard, which some
lawmakers said would amount to a cutback.

“The Army is not cutting the National Guard or Reserves.
That rumor is false,” Rumsfeld said.

The Pentagon plan had called for reducing the Army National
Guard’s authorized troop level from the 350,000 to 335,000,
which is the actual current force.

Facing a wall of congressional opposition, the Pentagon
proposed keeping in escrow money to pay for a 350,000
force-level to be used if the Guard can recruit to that level.

(additional reporting by Charles Aldinger)