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Germany hedges on whether UN role is condition of German support for reconstruction
There seems to be some confusion within the German govt about their role in the reconstruction of Iraq, with some statements now that Germany will still play a role even without a UN lead, though not as big a role as with a UN lead. This of course somewhat undercuts the French position, as does the insertion of Iraqi opposition leaders on the ground in southern Iraq.Germany may contribute its part to Iraq's post-war reconstruction even if the process is not carried out under UN supervision, a defence ministry spokesman said.
He reiterated that while Germany wanted the United Nations -- rather than the United States -- to oversee the reconstruction, he saw it as "certainly" playing at least a secondary role.
German Defence Minister Peter Struck had warned in a newspaper interview Sunday that Europe could not be expected to contribute troops or money to help Iraq's rehabilitation if the United States were running the country.
"If reconstruction is not placed under the UN, then I don't see any primary responsibility for Germany," he told the Frankfurter Rundschau.
But the spokesman told a regular government news conference Monday that it did not mean Berlin would refuse to play any role at all.
"As a soldier, I understand primary to mean that we are in the front line" if the process was under UN supervision, he said.
If reconstruction was not under UN supervision, it meant "that Germany is not in the front line but certainly in the second or third."
| Seems they're willing to hold their noses and be spear carriers, or horse-holders. There's money to be had there, I guess... |
Posted by: Liberalhawk 2003-04-07 |
