pedro martori

Subject: International Community Steps Up to Assist Iraq Reconstruction
Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 6:41 PM

By Gerry J. Gilmore

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2003 - The Pentagon's top money
manager today praised the nations of the international
community that pledged billions for the reconstruction of
Iraq at the Oct. 23-24 donors' conference in Madrid.

About $13 billion was pledged, DoD Comptroller Dov Zakheim
told reporters at a Pentagon press conference.

That amount, he said, is in addition to the $20 billion
earmarked for Iraq reconstruction contained within the $87
billion supplemental budget proposal for Afghanistan and
Iraq that's now before Congress.

The amount of money pledged for Iraq in Madrid proves "the
international community feels that it is terribly important
that there be a secure, stable, viable, peaceful and
representative Iraq," Zakheim said.

Countries' individual contributions ranged from the
equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars to more than a
billion. In size, Zakheim noted that America's $20 billion
pledge was followed by Japan at $1.5 billion; Great
Britain, $900 million; Kuwait, $500 million; and Spain,
about $350 million.

In Madrid, Canada contributed about $300 million in their
dollars for Iraq, Zakheim pointed out, and "actually
solicited other countries that were sort of debating
whether they should contribute." Canadian efforts in this
regard, he added, "were successful in a number of cases."

Follow-on meetings to track the distribution of
contributions pledged for Iraq at Madrid are likely to be
held in the future, Zakheim said.

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