Rice's Rebuilding Plan Hits Snags
15 Jan. Washington Post - Rice's Rebuilding Plan Hits Snags.
Quote:
... The idea centered on establishing Provincial Reconstruction Teams, or PRTs, a tactic promoted in Iraq by the new U.S. ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, who had built similar operations when he was ambassador to Afghanistan. He declared in November that extending a coordinated U.S. presence into the provinces was "a new addition to our strategy for success in Iraq."
Three teams were rapidly established in Mosul, Kirkuk and Hilla, largely because the functional equivalent of consulates -- known in Iraq as regional embassy offices -- were simply relabeled PRTs. But the rollout of the rest of the plan appears uncertain as State and Defense Department officials haggle over a series of tough questions, including how to fund them, how to staff them, how to provide security -- and even whether they help or hinder plans to reduce the U.S. troop presence...
Other officials said, however, that the PRTs have become caught in a crossfire of different priorities. Rice and her aides have felt strongly that civilian officials need to pay greater attention to the provinces, a view that is seconded by military officials in those areas. Establishing the PRTs thus would be part of a counterinsurgency campaign, State Department officials said.
At the same time, the Pentagon is eager to reduce its military footprint in Iraq, making officials wary of a project that could require the deployment of troops on yet another new mission when they are trying to reduce the visibility of U.S. forces and turn over more areas to the Iraqis.
"We don't, at the same time we're doing that, want to be establishing mini-Green Zones in the provincial capitals," said a defense official, referring to the giant, heavily protected headquarters in Baghdad for U.S. government and contracting activities.
Although State Department officials can rattle off specifics about the numbers and types of specialists expected to constitute future PRTs, defense officials said the makeup of the units remains open to question. Two Pentagon officials suggested that each PRT might need to be tailored to its particular province and not every province might warrant one...
One key concern, according to a senior military officer, is whether State can "come up with the right numbers of qualified and experienced folks to source the remaining teams." But State Department officials expressed confidence that staffing will not be a problem, saying Rice has made it a priority...
