The New York
Sun
April 4, 2003
State
Department Money Grab May Force Bush To Alter Iraq Plans
CONGRESS SHIFTS $2.5
BILLION FOR RECONSTRUCTION TO FOGGY BOTTOM FROM PENTAGON
WASHINGTON � President
Bush�s planning for post-war reconstruction in Iraq may have to be altered
because of a move to shift rebuilding money from the Pentagon to the State
Department � a move some say may have been the result of State Department
pressure.
During the markup of President Bush�s $75 billion defense appropriation supplemental bill, Republicancontrolled committees in both the House and Senate moved $2.5 billion in funds for rebuilding post-war Iraq to Foggy Bottom. The White House wanted the money to go to the Defense Department.
Several congressional sources and observers of the Iraq issue say that the State Department lobbied lawmakers to make the change, directly contravening the White House�s wishes.
"I know that State was lobbying heavily on it," one congressional aide said.
The House Appropriations Committee denied the charge that Foggy Bottom lobbied for the change.
"They didn�t lobby at all. It was a bipartisan, bicameral decision to keep foreign assistance in the hands of the Secretary of State," John Scofield, the committee�s spokesman, said.
A call to the State Department seeking comment was not returned yesterday.
Several sources said the Defense Department is at fault for the losing the money because they neglected to pay close attention to the Congress. They say the Pentagon miscalculated.
"A supplemental appropriations bill is not the Ten Commandments handed down from God. Everything is up for grabs once it hits the committee process. And people who want to see President Bush�s vision implemented have to get down and fight," said Danielle Pletka, the vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
The Pentagon and the State Department have been quarreling over a host of post-war Iraq issues, including funding, the role of the United Nations and the shape and makeup of a new Iraqi government.
The Pentagon favors a prominent role for Ahmad Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress, while the State Department dislikes the INC and sought out alternatives to him.
At a press conference yesterday, Senators Brownback of Kansas, Santorum of Pennsylvania, Kyl of Arizona and Coleman of Minnesota urged that a greater role be given to the Iraqi opposition in the war.
"We need to have in place all of the opposition that is opposed to Saddam Hussein and work aggressively forward.We should have been doing this five years ago, when we passed the Iraq Liberation Act, and we�ve had the State Department stalling during that entire five year period," Mr. Brownback said.
The State Department
informed Mr. Brownback Wednesday that it was freeing up a grant of $4 million to
send to northern Iraq so that the dormant television station of the INC, Liberty
TV, could get up and running.
"If there was lobbying by the State Department representatives to take away from Defense Department jurisdiction which had been a decision made by the president to operate the program post conflict�then that was very,very wrong. Not helpful, not productive, not constructive�a healthy debate should ensue with respect to such tactics if they occurred," Mr. Kyl said.
