http://www.shafaaq.com/ar/Ar_NewsReader/9ae455ad-3086-4ac0-af33-aecf3e2acec8
US and Western officials say the United States does not intend to contribute any money at an Iraq reconstruction conference in Kuwait next week, a move analysts say could be another blow to Washington's standing on the international scene.
The conference aims to discuss the reconstruction of Iraq after the war on the organization of the Islamic state.
"We are not going to announce anything," a US official said on Thursday regarding financial assistance at the conference, which will be attended by Foreign Secretary Rex Tilerson.
But the official said Tillerson might decide to make a US contribution ahead of the conference.Instead, Washington will encourage private sector investment and dependence on neighboring Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia, to pump money there as part of a new approach to Baghdad aimed at reducing Iran's influence in Iraq. US President Donald Trump said during his campaign in 2016 that if elected, "the era of nation-building will end.". Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said his country needed up to $ 100 billion to repair dilapidated infrastructure and cities devastated by fighting against the Islamic state.
The lack of funds for reconstruction may exacerbate the risk of injustice among the Sunni minority in Iraq toward the Shi'ite-led government.
Asked about any US government announcement on contributions to the conference, Foreign Office spokeswoman Heather Naort said: "I am not aware of any things we will announce."
"There are about 2,300 private individuals who will join … and talk about ways they can help facilitate the large-scale reconstruction process in Iraq," she said.
In response to a question by the US State Department about the absence of US contributions, another official pointed out the billions of dollars that the United States pledged to pay in the form of financing loans and spending on restoring basic services in Iraqi cities and towns immediately after the fighting ended. "The immediate needs for stability are huge and US resources alone can not meet those current and pressing needs, let alone support long-term reconstruction," said the US official, who declined to be named.
The official added that Washington strongly supports the conference and will "continue to work with the Iraqi government and the international community to help meet the needs of the Iraqi people as it recovers and rebuilds its country."
*The United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein and recently led an international coalition to fight the Islamic state, pumped billions of dollars into Iraq.
The United States said in January it planned to earmark $ 150 million for the 2018 stabilization operations, funds that would go to restore infrastructure and grant small projects, bringing Washington's total contribution to Iraq to $ 265.3 million by 2015.
The US government has provided $ 1.7 billion in humanitarian aid to Iraq since 2014, making it the single largest donor in the Iraq crisis.
Asked if Washington would announce any financial contributions to the conference to fund long-term reconstruction projects, a Western official, who asked not to be named, said: "Nothing at all."
Saleh's appearance, Ebadi's economic adviser, declined to confirm or deny the United States' reluctance to make further contributions. He said it was not about direct financial aid, saying he believed the current US policy was to support private sector investment in Iraq.He said he did not know anything about direct US aid at the Kuwait conference.
James Jeffrey, a former US ambassador to Iraq, said the United States had already pumped "billions and billions of dollars into Iraq" to fight the Islamic state and provide Iraqi troops with humanitarian supplies and aid.
"Only the United States can organize diplomatic, military, political and reconstruction efforts in the framework of a strategy followed by the international community," Jeffrey told Reuters.
"The fact that we will not contribute any money will weaken our position and this is unfortunate."
A US official in Baghdad said the US role in the Kuwait conference will focus on the opportunities of "real investments in the private sector or public-private partnership with the Iraqi government."
"What we are trying to do in Kuwait next week is to bring together companies that want to consider entering Iraq … and also more likely to talk about ways to fund projects," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A State Department official said Washington was dependent on the participation of other countries, adding that more than 100 US companies would attend the conference.. Iran emerged as the main political decision-maker in Iraq after the United States pulled out its troops in 2011, taking advantage of its close ties to the country's Shiite majority.