[House Document 108-85]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 108-85
A REPORT CONSISTENT WITH THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE
AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A REPORT INCLUDING MATTERS RELATING TO POST-LIBERATION IRAQ AS
CONSISTENT WITH THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE AGAINST
IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002 (PUBLIC LAW 107-243)
June 16, 2003.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations
and ordered to be printed
The White House,
Washington, June 13, 2003.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: Consistent with the Authorization for Use
of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law
107-243), the Authorization for the Use of Force Against Iraq
Resolution (Public Law 102-1), and in order to keep the
Congress fully informed, I am providing a report prepared by my
Administration. This report includes matters relating to post-
liberation Iraq under section 7 of the Iraq Liberation Act of
1998 (Public Law 105-338).
Sincerely,
George W. Bush.
REPORT TO CONGRESS
Submitted Consistent With PL 107-243: ``Authorization for Use of
Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002'', June 13, 2003
I. Executive Summary
This report covers approximately the period from April 1,
2003 to June 4, 2003. During this period, the United States-led
Coalition removed Saddam Hussein and his regime from power,
liberating Iraq from tyranny. The Coalition, in coordination
with international and nongovernmental organizations, acted
quickly to provide humanitarian relief to the Iraqi people,
began the task of rebuilding Iraq's government, and began the
process of rebuilding a country that had been isolated,
oppressed and mismanaged for decades under Ba'ath rule. On May
9, 2003, the United States, United Kingdom and Spain introduced
a United Nations Security Council Resolution, subsequently
adopted on May 22, to lift the sanctions burden on the Iraqi
people, define the U.N.'s vital role in Iraq's reconstruction,
and encourage the support of the international community.
Relief and reconstruction efforts are summarized in section
II. Democracy building and governance issues are described in
section III. Military operations are covered in section IV.
II. Relief and Reconstruction
A. MISSION AND ORGANIZATION
The American people have made a significant investment to
liberate Iraq, and stand ready to contribute to the rebuilding
efforts. Our policy goals for the recovery of Iraq are to:
Establish a secure environment for the Iraqi
people and the conduct of relief and recovery
activities;
Demonstrate rapid improvement in the lives
of the Iraqi people;
Maximize contributions from other countries
and organizations; and
Prepare the Iraqis for self-government.
The Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance
(ORHA) was established on January 20, 2003. Its mission was to
administer Iraq for a limited period of time, with the
objective of the immediate stabilization of post-heavy combat
Iraq. A Defense Department effort under the direction of Jay
Garner, ORHA was organized around three core functions:
humanitarian assistance, reconstruction, and civil
administration. Originally, ORHA was under the operational
control of Commander, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM).
On May 6, President Bush announced the appointment of
Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, as Presidential Envoy to Iraq.
He reports to the President through the Secretary of Defense.
The President authorized Ambassador Bremer to oversee, direct,
and coordinate all United States Government (USG) programs and
activities in Iraq, except those under the command of the
Commander, U.S. Central Command. This responsibility includes
overseeing the use of USG appropriations in Iraq, as well as
Iraqi state- or regime-owned property that is properly under
U.S. possession and made available for use in Iraq to assist
the Iraqi people and support the recovery of Iraq.
The Secretary of Defense appointed Ambassador Bremer as the
Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) on
May 13, 2003. As Administrator of the CPA, Ambassador Bremer is
responsible for the temporary governance of Iraq, and shall
oversee, direct and coordinate all executive, legislative, and
judicial functions necessary to carry out this responsibility,
including humanitarian relief and reconstruction and assisting
in the formation of an Iraqi interim administration. The
Secretary of Defense stated in his memorandum of May 13 that
the Commander, U.S. Central Command, acting as Commander of
Coalition Forces, shall directly support the CPA by deterring
hostilities; maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity and
security; searching for, securing and destroying weapons of
mass destruction; and assisting in carrying out U.S. policy
generally.
Subsequent to Ambassador Bremer's appointment as
Administrator of the CPA, ORHA has been dissolved and the CPA
has assumed its functions and responsibilities.
The staff of the CPA includes personnel from all relevant
U.S. agencies and departments, as well as representatives from
Coalition countries. The CPA has been establishing lines of
coordination with U.N. specialized agencies and other
international institutions, our Coalition partners, bilateral
donors, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The CPA's mission is to help meet Iraq's reconstruction,
governmental, and administrative challenges, acting as the
nucleus of Iraq's administrative apparatus; involving the Iraqi
people in administering their own country; and maximizing
contributions from other governments and organizations. A key
U.S. priority has been the re-establishment of civilian public
services to effect improvements in the lives of the Iraqi
people. To this end, the CPA has worked closely with USCENTCOM
to re-establish security in Iraq and to provide basic water,
sanitation, and electric power services for the Iraqi people.
To the extent possible, the CPA's civil administration of
Iraq seeks to rely on existing Iraqi ministries and
infrastructure under CPA direction. The CPA is focused on
getting Iraqi ministries up and running. To facilitate this
work, emergency payments have been disbursed to Iraqi civil
servants, and actions have been taken to effect the re-
establishment of regular salary payments and schedules for all
approved Iraqi civil servants. The ultimate goal for the United
States will be to support a process leading to an
internationally recognized, representative government of Iraq.
At the same time, the CPA has initiated a program to remove
all Iraqi officials who had been senior members of the Ba'ath
party. This process continues, along with efforts to identify
and train, as needed, acceptable non-Ba'athist officials to
manage the various ministries.
B. HUMANITARIAN RELIEF
The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and
Migration (PRM) has allocated an additional $39.9 million for
pre-positioning and for international organizations (IOs) to
meet early response requirements, including $21 million to the
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), $10 million to the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), $3 million to
the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC), $2.63 million to the International
Organization for Migration (IOM), and $3 million for other IOs
and NGOs. Additional funds are in the pipeline. The U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID) has also provided
contributions to U.N. agencies, including $13 million to UNICEF
for emergency health, nutrition, and water/sanitation
activities; $60 million to the World Food Program for food and
logistics and $375 million worth of commodities; and $1.2
million to the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for NGO and donor coordination.
Support to NGOs totals over $25 million for a variety of relief
activities.
On March 28, 2003, after substantial negotiation, the
United Nations Security Council adopted U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1472. This resolution, cosponsored by the United
States in recognition of the potential humanitarian crisis in
Iraq, extended the Oil for Food (OFF) Program for 45 days with
certain modifications.
On May 22, 2003, the U.N. Security Council adopted
Resolution 1483, which, among other provisions: recognizes the
U.S. and U.K. roles under unified (U.S.) command; notes
specifically the CPA's role in Iraq, as described in the U.S./
U.K. letter to the President of the Security Council of May 8,
2003; encourages international involvement in the
reconstruction effort in Iraq; calls on States to help meet the
humanitarian needs of Iraq, including reconstruction and
rehabilitation of Iraq's economic infrastructure; defines the
U.N.'s role; calls on the Secretary General to appoint a
Special Representative for Iraq and describes the role the
Special Representative will play; lifts sanctions and
specifically permits the sale of oil and the deposit of sales
proceeds into the Development Fund for Iraq, with disbursements
from the Fund at the direction of the CPA; leaves in place
sanctions on arms, except as they pertain to the CPA; winds
down the Oil for Food (OFF) Program; gives the Secretary
General an additional 6 months to ensure the delivery of
priority civilian goods under approved contracts; provides for
the transfer of $1 billion in unallocated funds from the OFF
escrow account to the Development Fund for Iraq to be used for
the benefit of the Iraqi people; provides for restoration of
$400 million of frozen Iraqi assets that was originally used to
capitalize the OFF program; supports formation of an Iraqi
Interim Administration (IIA), which will be a transitional
administration run by Iraqis until an internationally
recognized representative government is established in Iraq and
assumes the responsibilities of the CPA; welcomes the readiness
of creditors, including those of the Paris Club, to seek a
solution to Iraq's sovereign debt problems; notes establishment
of the Development Fund for Iraq, with disbursements at the
direction of the CPA, in consultation with the IIA, to be used
in a transparent manner to meet the humanitarian needs of the
Iraqi people, for the economic reconstruction and repair of
Iraq's infrastructure, the continued disarmament of Iraq, the
costs of Iraqi civilian administration, and for other purposes
benefiting the people of Iraq, and with proceeds from, among
other sources, oil sales, returned regime assets, and $1
billion in unallocated proceeds from the OFF escrow account.
The Development Fund for Iraq has already been established.
On May 28, 2003, $1 billion was transferred into the account by
the U.N. as contemplated in Resolution 1483. The Development
Fund for Iraq will be financed from multiple Iraqi sources
including oil revenues and blocked Iraqi assets held in foreign
banks. We are working with the United Nations, the World Bank,
other international organizations and governments on an
informal preparatory meeting to discuss Iraq requirements and
appropriate funding mechanisms.
The U.N., other international institutions, and the United
States and its coalition partners continue to urge all nations
to contribute to humanitarian relief and recovery in Iraq in
any way they can. Offers of assistance from the international
community exceed $1.9 billion. About $700 million of this has
been in response to the U.N. Flash Appeal to meet urgent
requirements in Iraq. We are also discussing a formal donors
conference this summer.
C. RECONSTRUCTION
Concurrent with ongoing stability and security efforts, the
process of rebuilding Iraq has begun in earnest. Among the
early successes are the following:
Emergency payments have been made to over
$1,500,000 Iraqi civil servants to facilitate their return to
work and put much-needed cash into the hands of the Iraqi
people. The funds to make these payments came from blocked
Iraqi assets that had been vested by the United States, and
made available for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction
purposes in Iraq.
More than $300,000 has been invested in rebuilding
and start-up costs for Iraqi ministries. More than $1,250,000
is planned for ministry telecommunications in the near future.
The CPA has requested more than $12 million to
implement a Humanitarian Mine Action plan.
10,000 Iraqi police officers have returned to
their jobs, and some of Iraq's criminal courts have resumed
legal proceedings.
Several railway links with Baghdad have been
restored, and the CPA is working to restore commercial air
links with Baghdad and Basra. Efforts to revitalize the port of
Umm Qasr have begun. The restoration of these vital commercial
links and resumption of operations will benefit Iraq's economic
recovery.
Iraqi primary schools reopened on May 4th, and
secondary schools re-opened on May 10th. Preparations are being
made to resume university instruction in time to ensure
students are able to graduate as scheduled. Universities have
elected new deans and other officials. USAID worked with UNICEF
and NGOs to provide new textbooks, with apolitical content, and
other school materials.
The CPA has invested more than $500,000 of vested
assets in supplies and equipment for public services, including
schools and hospitals. Iraqi cities have seen an improvement in
thequality of water. Waste treatment has begun to improve, and
electricity output is increasing to meet demand.
Shipments of oil and Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) are
coming in from Kuwait and Turkey to refineries in Basra,
Baghdad, and Bajii. We are also progressing towards bringing
domestic fuel production up to 400,000 barrels per day to meet
domestic demand.
More than 12,000 workers have already returned to
work in the oil sector, many under interim pay arrangements
facilitated by the Coalition.
United States and U.K. personnel have been working to
restore port, rail, and airport facilities throughout Iraq.
Restoring these facilities is a key prerequisite to expanding
Iraqi trade and economic activity. United States and U.K.
military engineers are directing a project to dredge the
waterway leading to the port of Umm Qasr, which will allow
large cargo ships including those carrying humanitarian cargos
such as grain to reach the port. Railways are being repaired
throughout the port and major cities in Iraq. United States
military personnel and contractors under CPA supervision are
working to restore commercial and civilian air service at
Baghdad International Airport, restoring the runways, taxiways,
and parking aprons.
In addition, USAID has provided assistance for
reconstruction activities in Iraq in a broad range of sectors.
The total amount obligated to date for the reconstruction
effort is $96.7 million. USAID supports reconstruction projects
in education, governance, health, infrastructure, and
logistics.
Major USAID programs are as follows:
Restoring Essential Infrastructure
All preparatory work has been done to improve the
port in Umm Qasr to international standards while USAID has
maintained close cooperation with World Food Program to unload
1 million tons of grain by September.
All preparatory work has been done to improve
Basrah and Baghdad international Airports to international
standards. USAID private sector partners are working to
operate, manage, construct a temporary passenger terminal and
provide passenger and baggage security screening for the
Baghdad international Airport (BIAP).
A civil aviation conference is scheduled for June
14 to coordinate USG agencies in the restoration of commercial
air traffic at international standards.
Dredging of Umm Qasr port has been operating on a
24-hour shift and the channel now is 9 meters deep. Bulk grain
carriers and container ships are not able to use the port. In
addition, the survey of wrecks has been completed in the
channel and the magnetometer has located four sunken vessels
for removal.
Assessment and reconstruction plans have been completed for
boilers at electrical generation plants, 400 kva and 135 kva
transmission line repairs, schools and hospitals, irrigation
works specifically at Ar Rutbah and Al Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
Reestablishing Social Services
Procured a total of 22.3. million doses of
vaccines to prevent measles, pediatric tuberculosis, hepatitis
B, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, and polio, enough for
an estimated 4.2 million children under the age of five years
and 700,000 pregnant women.
Established a water and sanitation coordination
team in Amman and Kuwait comprising U.N. agencies, ICRC and
international NGOs that are working (or plan to work) in the
sector in Iraq.
Developed reported documents as part of the health
information systems (HIS) to be able to report and record
illnesses and detect epidemic outbreaks early on. This system
was implemented first in Basrah in collaboration with the Iraqi
Director of Public Health.
Finalized the details for various components of
school and student kits that will be distributed to 1,100
schools in Basrah at the start of the school year, September
2003.
Conducted assessments of schools in southern Iraq
which showed that teachers and children are ready to resume
classes and that schools have been looted and lack basic
learning and teaching materials.
Ordered 450 ``schools-in-a-box'' which will
provide learning and teaching materials to 36,000 children in
southern Iraq.
Negotiations are complete for printing and
distribution of 5 million math and science textbooks through
UNESCO, evaluation of social science texts for bias, hate,
historical inaccuracies and gender, and competitive procurement
of interim instructional materials for participative politics,
toleration of divergent views, and the role of civil society in
governance.
USAID education technical advisor joined the
Ministry of Education (MOE) to work on preparing MOE payroll
data in the salary format provided by the Office of the
Coalition Provisional Authority (OCAP) to enable 300,000
employees to be paid nation-wide.
Participative, Transparent Government
A total of $120,300 in grants have been approved
to Iraqi organizations for small reconstruction activities such
as the rehabilitation of 21 schools, transportation services to
enable 13 teachers from rural areas to administer final exams
to their students and for rehabilitation of a primary health
care facility.
Worked with city officials to develop a
preliminary governance structure for Baghdad that will link
citizens from neighborhood councils to an overall city council.
Initial neighborhood councils were formed on May
19, in 16 of the 83 neighborhoods in the city. In Al-Rashid,
which is one of the 9 municipalities in Baghdad City, all 14 of
the neighborhood councils have been formed. The first meeting
of representatives from each neighborhood was held on May 19.
USAID recently made awards to five NGOs as part of
USAID's Community Action Program (CAP) in Iraq to promote
diverse and representative citizen participation in and among
communities throughout Iraq as well as to identify, prioritize,
and deliver critical reconstruction and development needs.
Essential Economic Institutions
USAID is conducting a Marshland Initiative for
Basrah, Dhi Qar, and Maysan provinces to evaluate hydrologic
and ecologic studies and economic analyses while including the
marsh Arabs into the planning for the restoration of the
marshes
A competitive procurement has been published for
assistance in competitive crops, farming, and marketing;
sustainable financing operations, and reduced water logging and
soil salinity.
In addition to United States government activities, The
World Bank and IMF have agreed to send needs assessment teams
to Iraq and will be dispatching them shortly. Such assessments
are helpful in providing the basis for a multilateral donor
effort to assist in Iraqi reconstruction.
The United States supports an eventual comprehensive,
multilateral treatment of Iraq's debt. We and other G-8
countries recognize that it would be unrealistic to expect Iraq
to make service payments on its debt at least through the end
of 2004. The Paris Club has already begun work on collecting
data on Iraqi debt from Paris Club creditor countries. The IMF
has agreed to poll non-Paris Club countries on what Iraq owes
them.
III. Transition to Democracy
A. IRAQI INTERIM ADMINISTRATION
The President supports the establishment of an Iraqi
Interim Administration (IIA) as quickly as practicable by the
people of Iraq, with the help of the CPA working with the U.N.
Special Representative. The principles that will guide the
formation of the IIA are as follows:
We support the formation of an IIA, a
transitional administration run by Iraqis, until an
internationally recognized, representative government
is established by the people of Iraq and assumes the
responsibility of the CPA;
The IIA will be broad-based and fully
representative, with members from all of Iraq's ethnic
groups and regions, including its diaspora.
Civilian Iraqi leaders will emerge who can
be part of such an IIA.
The IIA will provide a means for Iraqis to
participate in the economic and political
reconstruction of their country from the outset.
These principles continue to inform our ongoing discussions
on the IIA. The Coalition has organized meetings in Nassiriya
and Baghdad to discuss Iraq's political future. The highly
constructive dialogue that began in those meetings is
continuing, and will culminate in an IA that reflects the above
principles.
B. NASSIRIYA AND BAGHDAD CONFERENCES
In support of our commitment to assist the Iraqi people in
establishing a representative, participatory government, U.S.
officials convened conferences in Nassiriya, on April 15, and
Baghdad, on April 28, to discuss Iraq's future. Invitees
included representatives from Iraq's exiled opposition and
internal Iraqi notables, including intellectuals, tribal
shaykhs, Iraqi technocrats, and clerics. Observers from several
coalition members also attended the meetings, which were
presided over by then ORHA director, Jay Garner, and Special
Envoy to Free Iraqis, Zalmay Khalizad. The meetings provided
U.S. officials with the opportunity to hear the ideas and
concerns of the Iraqi people. Conference attendees issued
declarations expressing support for a democratic,
representative form of government, establishing rule of law,
and respect for all Iraqi religious and ethnic groups. For
many, it was the first time they were able to express their
political views freely.
C. MOSUL AND KIRKUK MUNICIPAL COUNCILS
United States Army Civil Affairs units, working with ORHA
North, helped the residents of the northern cities of Kirkuk
and Mosul establish municipal councils. On May 5, over two
hundred notables from Mosul gathered to elect a multi-ethnic
council, which in turn selected a mayor and deputy mayors to
liaise with U.S. officials concerning the administration of
Iraq's third largest city. On May 25, a 24-member council in
Kirkuk was formed with representatives from the city's three
prominent ethnic groups--Kurds, Arabs, and Turkomen. Civil
affairs personnel have worked closely with the council to
establish a multi-ethnic police force to restore order to the
city. These councils are a vivid illustration of the United
States' commitment to fulfill its promise to return control of
Iraq to the Iraqi people as soon as possible. The coalition
will be seeking to achieve similar success in cities and towns
around Iraq as soon as it is feasible.
IV. Military Operations
During the period of this report U.S. and Coalition
military forces completed the destruction of the Saddam regime
and transitioned from decisive combat operations to stability
and security operations. On May 1, the President announced that
major combat operations in Iraq have ended and that now the
Coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that
country. Despite the conclusion of major combat operations,
dangerous threats remain to both military forces and the Iraqi
populace. Coalition forces established control over most major
Iraqi cities and engaged in sustained operations to locate and
destroy regime diehards, bring looting under control, and
secure vital infrastructure from criminal elements. As a
result, stability has returned to much of Iraq. Problem areas,
particularly in Baghdad, continue to exist, and additional
forces and resources have been deployed to that city to
establish greater control. As an example of how these security
concerns are being addressed, on May 28 more than 30,000 U.S.
personnel in Baghdad were engaged in security patrols,
operation of checkpoints, protection of humanitarian convoys,
and security of vital infrastructure and cultural sites. As the
President has indicated previously, it is not possible to know
at this time either the duration of active military operations
or the scope and duration of the deployment of United States
Armed Forces necessary for the full accomplishment of our
goals.