US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT1359

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