Post-War Iraq: Foreign Contributions to Training, Peacekeeping, and Reconstruction

Publication Date: June 2007

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: International relations

Type:

Coverage: Iraq

Abstract:

Securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the reconstruction and stabilization of Iraq has been a major priority for U.S. policymakers since the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. This report tracks important changes in financial and personnel pledges from foreign governments since the August 19, 2003 bombing of the U.N. Headquarters in Baghdad and major events since the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003.

Currently, there are 25 countries with military forces participating in the coalition's stabilization effort. An additional 15 countries have withdrawn their troops from Iraq due to either the successful completion of their missions, domestic political pressure to withdraw their troops, or, in the case of the Philippines, the demands of terrorist kidnappers who threatened to kill foreign hostages unless their respective countries removed their troops from Iraq.

Most foreign pledges for reconstructing Iraq were made at a donors' conference in Madrid, Spain, in October 2003. Foreign donors pledged an estimated $13 billion in grants and loans for Iraq reconstruction but have only disbursed about $3 billion to the United Nations and World Bank trust funds for Iraq. The largest non-American pledges of grants have come from Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have pledged the most loans and export credits.

This report also discusses international efforts to train and equip the new Iraqi security forces. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003, several coalition, non-coalition, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries have contributed personnel, equipment, and facilities to the training of Iraqi security and police forces. Some have expressed their willingness to contribute to future training operations within or outside of Iraq. Others have declined to participate in ongoing or planned training operations. Bush Administration officials have announced their intent to continue seeking international support for training and stability operations in Iraq in the coming months.

This report will be updated semi-annually to reflect the latest international developments.

For a broader review of foreign support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth Katzman; CRS Report RS21323, The United Nations Security Council -- Its Role in the Iraq Security Crisis: A Brief Overview, by Marjorie Ann Browne; and CRS Report RL31833, Iraq: Recent Developments in Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance, by Curt Tarnoff.