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US oversight inspectors to remain in Iraq

In a switch under Congressional pressure, the US State Department agreed on Tuesday to retain nine US inspectors in Iraq to oversee reconstruction, health and other assistance programs.

The group of US Agency for International Development (AID) inspectors based in Baghdad had faced elimination, reduction or transfer to Jordan, Egypt or Germany with the presence of AID inspectors in Iraq restricted to two on a rotating and temporary basis.

But now, "We have been informed by the State Department that we can maintain our presence, which is contrary to our initial understandings," said Dona Dinkler, chief of staff for the US AID office of inspector general.

The first hint of the switch came from the office of Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican who said: "Without a strong oversight presence on the ground in Iraq, American tax dollars are vulnerable to waste or abuse."

In a statement, Coleman said he was pleased to learn that US Ambassador Ryan Crocker had indicated he would keep the inspectors of the Agency for International Development in Iraq.

And on the House of Representatives side, Representative Howard Berman, a Democrat who is acting chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee urged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "to reconsider a decision to eliminate the positions of key officials now overseeing development projects in Iraq."

Berman, in a statement, said he saw no logical reason why the State Department and the embassy "would want to impair the ability of the United States to monitor billions of dollars in US foreign assistance."

Crocker's recommendation was approved on Tuesday by the State Department in Washington.

A senior official, not authorized to speak on the record, said that last May the department recommended the office be moved from Baghdad.

While the Washington office was never notified, it received what the official called "a bootleg copy" of the plan.

Inspector General Donald Gambatesa was assured by department officials "we will get this fixed."

But in January, the AID office was informed that the nine people would have to leave and would be restricted to having two temporary people in Baghdad on a rotating basis, the official said.

The programs the inspectors oversee include reconstruction, health, education, water, sanitation and disaster assistance. The aim is to see that US taxpayer dollars are spent as intended, the official said.
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