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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-010502iraq.story
U.S. Suspends Funding to Iraqi Opposition Group By ROBIN WRIGHT , Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON -- Despite the growing drumbeat to expand the war on terrorism to
Iraq, U.S.
officials this week suspended key
funding to the
leading Iraqi group opposing President Saddam
Hussein because it
has failed to account for tens of millions of
dollars in U.S.
aid.
The Iraqi National Congress, based in London, was formally notified Thursday that a new audit
of the group had revealed
serious "financial
management and internal control
weaknesses" in its
handling of the U.S. funds, according to
the State Department.
Concerns about the Iraqi National Congress' use of U.S. aid underscore the difficulty the Bush administration faces as it
debates what to do about Hussein's regime.
Washington
remains committed to
ousting the Iraqi president, but
problems with the
Iraqi group have
slowed and complicated
the effort.
Besides questions about the use of aid managed by the State Department, the INC has also failed to use most of the $97
million allocated to
it by Congress under the 1998 Iraqi Liberation
Act in a dispute
over tactics, U.S. officials say. The organization
has refused since
September, for example, to send members for
training at the Pentagon, a cornerstone of the program. So far, the
organization has used less than $5 million of the fund, the
officials
say.
The conflicts over money reflect a fundamental split between the United States and the opposition group in its effort to change the
regime in Baghdad.
The Iraqi National Congress, led by Ahmad Chalabi, is pushing hard for the United
States to foot the bill for operations inside
Iraq.
The United States
instead believes the organization first must
build
a viable operation and attract a wider following
both inside Iraq and
in the region. So far, U.S. officials say, the
group has failed to make
significant progress on these fronts.
"They want us to support programs that take them into Iraq, and we don't want to do that yet," an administration official said. "The United
States is not ready to take that step because of the consequences."
U.S. officials are concerned, for example, about what might happen even with a food aid
program operated by the group inside Iraq. The
danger, the officials say, is not only that Iraq might arrest INC
operatives and put
them on trial but that the group might use
the
program to provoke an Iraqi response-- perhaps force U.S.
military
intervention.
"We need a group like the INC was supposed to be-- an umbrella for the opposition with resources that people can turn to and
use,"
the administration official said. "We would like to see their (media)
operating out in the region building their case. We
would like them
to take advantage of a lot of training that's
available. But they're not
doing it. They're
intent only on going back inside Iraq."
The organization has not made serious headway in ousting Hussein since its
leadership was
forced to flee in 1996, when
the CIA-backed operation in northern Iraq collapsed because
of fighting among its factions and pressure
from Iraqi troops.
Critics of the opposition group within the administration express admiration for Chalabi's commitment to overthrowing Hussein.
But they are concerned about his domination of the group-- to
the exclusion of the six other members of the
INC board, as well
as its broader membership.
Such differences over strategies led to an open split between the United States
and the organization in September, when
the previous State Department grant of $25 million
expired.
When the group submitted a request for a new set of programs costing $25 million,
it asked that $17 million of it be used on
operations inside Iraq. The Bush administration rebuffed that
request and approved only $8 million in new
grant money.
The INC said it wanted all or nothing, according to U.S. officials.
To show ongoing interest, the U.S. still provided $800,000 a month to the Iraqi
group-- until a recent report by the U.S.
inspector general's office instructed the
State Department to
"withhold or at least restrict future funding to
the INC" until
the group implements improved accounting
methods.
Based on the new audit, the State Department cut funds for the INC's Office of
Mobilization and Coordination, which was set up
to support people in training at the Pentagon,
U.S. officials said.
But after the September split on funding, the
INC hasn't sent any
new trainees.
"We repeatedly asked the INC to send names and the Pentagon has left vacanciesin its program, but without
trainees we can't
continue to fund the office set up to
support them," said
a source familiar with the issue.
The State Department also cut funds for the INC's Information Collection program, which is largely a
news organization.
Questions have been raised
about the program's
high costs, especially since
the audit found no time cards for employees or
receipts for expenditures, among other things,
U.S. officials
say.
There are also growing questions about the use of U.S. funds by the INC's Liberty
TV, which broadcasts a 45-minute program
into Iraq.
In one incident that raised concerns, a Liberty TV executive claimed that he
had a paid guard posted in front of a coffee
and tea room because
he was convinced
someone was
trying to poison
them, according to U.S. officials.
The INC always accuses the State Department of withholding funds because
it doesn't support the INC cause," said Henri
Barkey, a former
State Department policy planning staffer
now at Lehigh
University. "But unfortunately, it was actually
the INC that came up
short every time in terms of providing
accurate accounting
and proper documentation and not living
up to deadlines."
Washington has paid for an accountant, lawyer and grant writer to
help straighten
out the INC financial problems.
But deepening
frustration with the group's shortcoming in
handling U.S. funds finally led to the decision this
week
to withhold funding for many of the INC programs.
U.S. officials say there have been some improvements in the group's
operation.INC
officials liked to fly first class on
overseas trips,
preferably on British Airways. Under U.S.
law, however, aid
grantees must fly on American carriers,
in coach
seats. The
INC has begun to
comply with these
kinds of basic rules, sources said.
U.S. officials say they are committed to restoring the full $25 million
grant from
the State
Department if the INC will
improve its management.This month, it will still
receive
$500,000 from the
State Department.
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