This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 001359
SIPDIS
STATE ALSO PASS USAID/W
STATE PLEASE REPEAT TO IO COLLECTIVE
STATE FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE, NEA/NGA, IO AND SA/PAB
NSC FOR EABRAMS, SMCCORMICK, STAHIR-KHELI, JDWORKEN
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/RMT, DCHA/FFP
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, ANE/AA
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA:WGARVELINK, BMCCONNELL, KFARNSWORTH
USAID FOR ANE/AA:WCHAMBERLIN
ROME FOR FODAG
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
DOHA FOR MSHIRLEY
ANKARA FOR AMB WRPEARSON, ECON AJSIROTIC AND DART
AMMAN FOR USAID AND DART
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF IZ WFP
SUBJECT: TFIZ01: DART SITUATION REPORT 10 APRIL 2003
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SUMMARY
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1. The DART met with the newly established town council in
Umm Qasr on 9 April. WFP will hold a meeting in Rome to
discuss the current food pipeline for Iraq, including donor
contributions and how the OFF may offset certain
requirements as outlined in the U.N. consolidated appeal on
10 April. The DART APU met with the leadership of the CA
Brigade responsible for public security in Iraq, and with
representatives of the Free Iraqi Forces in separate
meetings. END SUMMARY.
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DART UPDATES FROM UMM QASR
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2. The DART met with the newly established town council in
Umm Qasr with the aim of assisting them in taking up their
new responsibilities on 9 April. During the meeting, the
supply of office equipment, repair of the partially damaged
town hall, and assistance to the council in spreading a
message of stability and peace were discussed. The DART
will hold a follow-up meeting with the council on 12 April.
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FOOD
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3. On 10 April, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) will hold
a high-level meeting in Rome to discuss the current food
pipeline for Iraq, including donor contributions and how the
Oil for Food (OFF) program, under United Nations Security
Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1472, may offset certain
requirements as outlined in the U.N. consolidated appeal.
WFP staff from Larnaca will meet with WFP Executive Director
Morris and Deputy Graisse. The purpose of the meeting will
be to identify viable OFF contracts, the practicality of
revalidating those contracts, and getting the food shipped
within the 45-day timeframe laid out in UNSCR 1472. WFP
will determine which commodities under current contracts are
needed immediately and how to expedite their arrival. By
close of business in Rome on 11 April, WFP will finalize an
official letter to be released to the donors on 14 April
that will incorporate feasible OFF contracts into the
pipeline.
4. Even though UNSCR 1472 has passed, and the clock on the
45 days began ticking on 28 March, there remain many
technicalities that must be clarified between the Office for
Iraq Program (OIP) in New York and WFP. Until new
procedures are clarified, the current OFF contracts and
commodities cannot be assumed by WFP. WFP must renegotiate
each contract with the supplier as previous contract details
are null and void. Once a contract has been renegotiated,
WFP must seek approval from OIP and negotiate the amount of
associated costs that OIP will cover. WFP associated costs
will be higher than those negotiated previously with the
Government of Iraq (GOI), as the GOI staff were responsible
for internal transport, storage, and milling costs. The
UNSCR 45-day timeframe will also limit the number of
contracts that will be viable. Finally, Phase XIII of the
OFF expires on or about 6 June (a new phase begins every six
months).
5. WFP program manager, Tarek Elguindi, is arriving in
Kuwait on 10 April to assume management of the program
aspects of OFF's public distribution system (PDS). Elguindi
served as program manager of WFP/Iraq for nine months prior
to the war. He is very familiar with the PDS and will move
into Iraq as soon as security allows. He will be
accompanied by three to four junior WFP program managers.
In addition, WFP's Deputy Regional Coordinator and
Operations, Amer Daoudi, will arrive in Kuwait on 15 April.
The DART's food officer in Larnaca will travel to Kuwait at
the same time. Daoudi is coming to Kuwait to clarify
operational responsibilities of WFP staff in Kuwait and lay
out the plan for the coming weeks.
6. WFP will send two consultants to the region to assess
the feasibility of using rail to transport commodities to
and inside Iraq. One will go to Kuwait to check the rail
between Umm Qasr and Baghdad, while the other will go to
Syria to check the Syria to Iraq route.
7. WFP will post a milling expert to Kuwait to assess the
functionality of the eleven mills in Basrah, Iraq when
security permits. Three additional milling experts will
follow.
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ABUSE PREVENTION UNIT
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8. On 7 April, the DART Abuse Prevention Unit (APU) met
with the leadership of the Civil Affairs (CA) Brigade
responsible for public security in Iraq. The Office of
Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) also
participated in the meeting. All participants stressed the
importance of strong interaction between the APU, ORHA, and
CA units operating in Iraq. The APU also learned about a
report from one Coalition-controlled village where the
police stayed on the job and were allowed to keep their
uniforms and weapons. At this moment, it is not clear in
which town this took place, and the APU does not expect this
to be a trend countrywide. CA representatives inquired
about the potential role that the DART health team could
play in assessing prison conditions throughout the country.
The APU was also asked to assist in arranging future
meetings between CA, the DART, and ORHA. Finally, the CA
representatives suggested a joint CA/APU assessment in An
Nasiriyah.
9. The APU also met with representatives of the Free Iraqi
Forces (FIF) on 7 April. FIF offered its assistance in
identifying potential flashpoints and providing technical
expertise, including interpretation and liaison services, to
the APU.
JONES