Agence France-Presse, 13 December 2007
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States may begin reducing the number of reconstruction teams in Iraq in 2009 and hand more of the development responsibilities to Iraqis, a US aid official said Thursday.
Thomas Staal, the Iraq reconstruction director at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said Iraq's local and national governments are making progress while the security situation has improved.
"The Iraqi government is already making good progress, so we see that at that point (2009) they should be able to take over more and more of the activities" of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT), Staal said at a news conference.
He stressed, however, that 2009 was "not a hard and fast" date and that the team reduction "depends on the security situation, it depends on the Iraqi government's own ability to take over things."
But, he added, "I don't see that the PRTs will be there five years from now."
The number of reconstruction teams grew from 10 in 2006 to 25 today as part of President George W. Bush's strategy to send a "surge" of about 30,000 troops earlier this year in an effort to improve security in Iraq, he said.
The 25 teams, which are led by the US State Department, total about 200 staff members, including foreigners, Staal said.
In his overview of reconstruction in Iraq, Staal said the first phase -- rebuilding infrastructure -- was complete and that the current focus was on improving government effectiveness and the economy.
In the third phase, the Iraqi government is to take the lead from the PRTs. Reconstruction teams would withdraw from the provinces but maintain a presence in Baghdad, Staal said.
Citation: " US may reduce Iraq reconstruction teams in 2009: official," Agence France-Presse, 13 December 2007.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071213/pl_afp/usiraqpoliticsaidreconstruction