US hires Iraqi exiles to help post-war reconstruction

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, at a separate briefing, said the money for Iraq after a war could come not only from the US but also from seized Iraqi assets, the oil-for-food humanitarian programme and donations from other countries.

At a Senate hearing, Iraq analysts projected that rebuilding Iraq would take years — perhaps five to 10 — and cost anywhere from $20 billion and $48 billion in the first year alone.

On enlisting Iraqi exiles, US officials said they had hired only several so far — mostly from Michigan — but hoped to enlist more than 100. ‘‘They have lived in a democratic country now,’’ a Pentagon official said. ‘‘They understand the process and can explain to the people there.”

The official said the Pentagon was seeking several Iraqi expatriates with skills in areas like public health and education. They would be asked to travel to Iraq for three to six months to help in the reconstruction effort, but not longer. ‘‘We don’t want them as competitors to indigenous Iraqis’’ in pursuit of leadership roles, the official said.

The Pentagon has already enlisted scores of Iraqi exiles from the US and Canada to serve as guides and translators for US troops in Iraq. They are being trained at the Taszar Air Base in southern Hungary. (LATWP)