Washington: The US will not demolish existing Iraqi institutions and in the event of
a possible war against President Saddam Hussein's regime, any country involved
should be ready for a long-term stay in Iraq, American Secretary of State Colin
Powell has said.
The US and the international community "must be prepared for a fairly long-term
commitment, that will change in shape, scope and dimension over time", Powell told
the House of Representatives Budget Committee on February 13.
"I don't think one should assume the country is going to be devastated by a
conflict. This is a society and a system that right now is functioning," he
said.
Declining to estimate the cost of a possible war, Powell, however, said Iraq should
be able to adjust quickly after a war in contrast to the slow pace of recovery in
Afghanistan.
"It has institutions that function, it has a bureaucracy that is very effective, it
has a middle class, it has an educated population, and it has $ 22 billion of oil
revenues a year. So this is not like Afghanistan," he said.
But Baghdad has "a horrible leadership", he added.
If the military offensive were successful, "we would try to build as much as we can
on the institutions that are there, to use the infrastructure that is there", Powell
said.
If Saddam was overthrown, initially Iraq will be placed under American military
administration and later moved to a US or international civilian administration and
self rule, he said, adding "It has happened in other conflicts, it happened in
Afghanistan when initially General Franks went in."
PTI
