Garner Arrives in Iraq
for Reconstruction
April 21, 2003 07:48 AM EDT |
Garner heads the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, which was set up by the Bush administration to help rebuild Iraq and prepare for an eventual interim government made up of Iraqis. Garner was accompanied by his British deputy Tim Cross. His initial team of about 19 civilian administrators is to grow to about 450 over the next week. Iraqis have criticized U.S.-led forces for failing to swiftly restore order in the city and elsewhere in Iraq, where looting and disorder broke out in the wake of Saddam's fall. Many cities also suffer from power and water shortages. Garner will report to U.S. General Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. Garner last week went to the southern city of Nasiriyah for a meeting with opposition figures, but the Baghdad visit was his first to the capital since U.S. forces took the city. |