kan udh nambah limit utang.......jd ya ad tambahan uang On Sat, Oct 8, 2011 at 7:05 PM, Bagya <[email protected]> wrote:
> ** > > > == > As U.S. troops leave Iraq, State Department ramps up > >  > > U.S. soldiers patrol outside Contingency Operating Site Taji, north of > Baghdad. (Maya Alleruzzo/ASSOCIATED PRESS) > > Mary Beth Sheridan and Dan Zak > Friday, Oct 7, 2011 > > The State Department is racing against an end-of-year deadline to take over > Iraq operations from the U.S. military, throwing up buildings and > marshalling contractors in its biggest overseas operation since the effort > to rebuild Europe after World War II. > > While attention in Washington and Baghdad has centered on the number of > U.S. troops that may remain in Iraq, they will be dwarfed by an estimated > 16,000 civilians under the American ambassador — the size of an Army > division. > > The scale of the operation has raised concerns among lawmakers and > government watchdogs, who fear the State Department will be overwhelmed by > overseeing so many people, about 80 percent of them contractors. There is a > risk, they say, of millions of dollars in waste and limited supervision of > bodyguards. > > “We’re very, very worried,” said Christopher H. Shays, a former Republican > member of Congress who served on the Commission on Wartime Contracting, at a > House hearing on Tuesday. “I don’t know how they’re going to do it.” > > State Department officials say they are working flat-out to finish their > preparations, adding contracting professionals to prevent fraud and focusing > on ensuring U.S. personnel will be protected. > > “We’ve spent too much money and lost too many kids’ lives, not to do this > thing right,” said Deputy Secretary of State Tom Nides. > > But officials acknowledge they have never done anything quite like this. > “Make no mistake, this is hard,” said Nides. > > There are currently 43,000 U.S. servicemembers in Iraq. Under an agreement > negotiated by the George W. Bush administration, they are to leave by the > end of 2011. > > Iraqi leaders Tuesday said they wanted a small contingent of U.S. military > trainers to remain, but without immunity from local prosecution, a condition > the Obama administration has said it cannot accept. The administration has > been planning to keep 3,000 to 5,000 military trainers if the two sides can > hammer out an agreement. > > The list of responsibilities the State Department will pick up from the > military is daunting. It will have to provide security for the roughly 1,750 > traditional embassy personnel — diplomats, aid workers, Treasury employees > and so on — in a country that is still rocked by daily bombings and > assassinations. > > To do so, State is contracting a security force of about 5,000. They will > not only protect the Baghdad embassy but two consulates, a pair of support > sites at Iraqi airports and three police-training facilities. > > The State Department will operate its own air service — the 46-aircraft > Embassy Air Iraq — and its own hospitals, functions the U.S. military has > been performing. About 4,600 contractors, mostly non-American, will provide > cooking, cleaning, medical care and other services. Rounding out the > civilian presence are about 4,600 people scattered over 10 or 11 sites where > Iraqis will be instructed on how to use U.S. military equipment they’ve > purchased. > > “This is not what State Department people train for, to run an operation of > this size. Ever since 2003, they’ve been heavily reliant on U.S. military > support,” said Max Boot, a national security expert at the Council on > Foreign Relations. > > In its final report issued last month, the bipartisan Commission on Wartime > Contracting said that billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars had been squandered > in Iraq and Afghanistan, and charged that the State Department hadn’t made > the necessary reforms in its contracting operation. > > “Therefore, significant additional waste — and mission degradation to the > point of failure — can be expected as State continues with the daunting task > of transition in Iraq,” it warned. > > State Department officials dispute that conclusion, saying they have hired > dozens of extra contracting personnel and have gained experience in managing > contractors in Iraq. > > Shays said he also worried that the State Department’s small security force > will be stretched too thin to supervise armed contractors. He told the > hearing he feared a repeat of the 2007 incident in which guards from the > security firm then known as Blackwater opened fire at a Baghdad traffic > circle, killing 17 Iraqi civilians. > > Stuart Bowen, the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, said in an > interview that the transition would have other costs. Without the military > protection, U.S. government personnel will have limited reach throughout > Iraq, he said. Already, the 1,200 personnel in the consulate in the southern > city of Basra can’t adequately move around that region, he said. > > “In between this area and Baghdad, there will be a void” of diplomatic > coverage, Bowen said. > > Nides emphasized that the State Department wasn’t trying to duplicate the > military mission. > > “That’s not what the Iraqis want. Frankly that’s not what was agreed to” > with the government in Baghdad, he said. Instead, the department was trying > to transition to a diplomatic presence, he said. > > While the Iraq operation will be huge by State Department standards, it > will still represent a significant scaling down from the military-led > mission, which currently involves 50,000 defense contractors. And State > Department officials say their use of contractors is expected to drop > sharply over the next three years, as security improves in Iraq. > > Nides noted that the State Department planned to spend less than $6 billion > in Iraq in 2012, compared to an outlay of about $50 billion by the military > this year. > > “That’s a pretty good transition dividend,” he said. > > The State Department had originally planned a more ambitious network of > consulates and police training sites, but cut back after failing to get > enough funding from Congress. > > Its smaller footprint will be evident in the police training program, which > will be run out of three locations in Iraq. In contrast, the U.S. military > had training programs in every one of the country’s 18 provinces, said Maj. > Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, chief spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq. > > “We had a partnership at a much lower level but I think [State will] bring > a very needed expertise at a higher level, a more strategic level,” he said. > > > The department’s inspector-general reported in May that there was a risk > that some of the new embassy facilities — such as hospitals and housing — > wouldn’t be ready by year’s end. > > A State Department official acknowledged housing construction will probably > extend into 2012. But at least temporary accommodations will be ready by > year’s end for 10,000 people at the Baghdad embassy, said the official, who > was not authorized to comment on the record. There will be no need — as > initially feared — to make people use beds in shifts. > > “We will have the basics for everyone,” he said. > > [email protected] > > [email protected] > > Zak reported from Baghdad. > Thanks, > Bagya > Powered by Telkomsel BlackBerry® > >
