The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
On May 26 I sent an email to Congressman Hastert and Senator Durbin
concerning the water and lack of chlorine. It seems like Durbin never
sends responses, but Haster does -- I got this one in the mail last week.
(They should get a working grammer and style checker for their computers
-- but then, it might mark 3/4 of the letter for deletion. Hold your
noses...)
=*=*=*=*=*=*=
J. Dennis Hastert 27 North River Street
14th District, Illinois Batavia, Il 60510
(630)406-1114
THE SPEAKER Fax: (630)406-1808
235 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, Dc 20515-1314 119 West First Street
(202) 225-2976 Dixon, Il 61021
Fax: (202)225-0697 (815)288-0680
Fax: (815)288-0743
dhastert@mail.house.gov
www.house.goc/hastert
Congress of the United States
House of Representives
Washington, DC 20515-1314
June 27, 2003
Dear Mr. Steel
Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns
regarding safe drinking water in Iraq. I appreciate
hearing from you and welcome this opportunity to respond.
As you are undoubtedly aware, on March 19, 2003, the
United States, in alliance the Coalition forces, entered
into armed conflict with Iraq. Just as on June 6, 1944,
when American troops, jpined by our British friends,
embarked on a mission to free Europe from the evils of a
despicable tyrant, American troops, joined by our British
friends, again embarked on a noble mission to free the
Iraqi people from an evil tyrant.
After roughly a month and a half of conflict, the United
States declared that the mission to liberate Iraq had been
an overwhelmingly [sic] success and that major combat had
ended. On May 1, 2003, surrounded by hundreds of U.S.
armed forces returning home from Iraq, President Bush
declared that then [sic] end of major combat in Iraq
marked a "turning of the tide" in a global fight against
terrorism, but was careful to note that the war on terror
is not over.
Recognizing the need for post-war Iraqi reconstruction
and ongoing humanitarian assistance, in January 2003, the
U.S. government established a post-war planning office
known as the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian
Assistance. As you may know, in President Bush's State of
the Union address, he stated that the United States will
bring to the Iraqi people food, medicines, supplies, and
freedom. Over the last few months, the United States
government, across all relevant agencies, has been
planning to reduce any adverse humanitarian consequences
of military action in Iraq.
Specifically, the Office of Reconstruction and
Humanitarian Assistance is responsible for producing plans
and implementing assistance programs in post-war Iraq.
This office has developed a humanitarian relief strategy
comprised of six key components. This strategy relies
heavily on a pro-active plan to minimize displacement and
damage to Iraqi infrastructure and services. Among other
componenets, this strategy also places great emphasis on
civil relief agencies, effective civil-military
coordination, and the stockpiling of supplies such as
blankets, water contatiners, shelter supplies, World
Health Organization essential medicines, and othe relief
items.
Moreover, on March 25, 2003, President Bush requested
$74.8 billion in FY 2003 Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations from ongoing military operations in Iraq,
postwar [sic; not hyphenated as in above example]
occupation, reconstruction and relief in Iraq,
international assistance to some 22 countries contributing
to the war in Iraq or the global war on terrorism, the
cost of the continued presence in Afghanistan, and
additional homeland security.
On April 12, 2003, the House and Senate approved a
modified version of the President's FY 2003 Supplemental
Appropriations request. The final bill (H.R. 1559)
includes $79 billion for national defense, aviation
assistance, homeland security, foreign assistance, and
reconstruction of Iraq. Specifically, the bill authorizes
$2.48 billion for a new Iraq relief and Reconstruction
Fund.
Nonetheless, in your letter, you expressed concerns
regarding the safety of water supplies in Iraq. As you may
know, netween January 31 and March 4, 2003, the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) issued
nine procurement actions (eight Requests for Proposals and
on Request for Applications) for reconstruction efforts in
Iraq. On March 28, 2003, the grant for Health, Water and
Sanitation Services was awarded to the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), Specifically, among other health
related provisions, this grant provides for the
reconstruction of the Iraqi water supply and sanitation
systems by repairing and rehabilitating the existing
systems and guaranteeing that affected populations have
access to minimal potable water supplies. Moreover, this
contract provides immediate attention to the repair of key
infrastructures and meeting basic household needs for
water and sanitation.
Additionally, you also expressed your concenr regarding
the supply of chlorine for water purification in Iraq. As
you may know, chlorine based sanitizers are needed to
prevent outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera,
typhoid, and dysentery. You may be interested to know that
UNICEF has supplied more than 200 metric tons of chlorine
for use in sanitizing drinking water in Iraq. Furthermore,
USAID has stated that once complete electrical power is
restored in Iraq, the domestic factories that produce
chlorine for water purification will resume production.
Finally, you will be pleased to know that the United
Nations Office of Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq
(UNOHCI) recently reported that Baghdad is receiving
adequate water supplies for the city's 5.5 million people.
Nevertheless, please rest assured that I will continue to
closely monitor reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
Thank you again for contacting me. If I may be of any
further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me
again.
Sincerely,
[printed signature]
J. Dennis Hastert
Speaker
JDH:KL
________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!
_______________________________________________
Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss
To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk
All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk