Seeking a Financial Boost for Iraq

Although Washington once had high hopes for the meeting in Madrid, the scope of the donors' conference for the reconstruction of Iraq has already been played down before it even got really rolling. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said no one expected the meeting to foot the entire $55 billion (€46.6 billion) bill to rebuild the war-ravaged country.

"There will always be a gap in the financing," he told reporters, adding the $55 billion was simply a goal to work towards during the two-day conference in the Spanish capital. Powell also said he did not have a target for how much money the conference might raise.

So far, $2 billion to $3 billion has been pledged for Iraq, in addition to the $20 billion the U.S. administration plans to contribute over the next 18 months.

A European snub

Several countries that opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq remain reluctant to pay for the rebuilding of the country. Despite voting for a new U.N. resolution on Iraq last week, Germany, France and Russia have made clear they will contribute no new money to Iraqi reconstruction.

German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said the countries that led the war in Iraq had a "special responsibility" for its reconstruction. She said that Germany's primary focus of international development was in Afghanistan, where Berlin was the largest donor. But she added that "helping the people in Iraq is independent of the fact that Germany was against the war."

According to Wieczorek-Zeul, Iraq could eventually rely on its oil wealth, which was why Berlin believed that the country should not be helped at the expense of poorer developing nations. Germany is giving more than 100 million euros ($117 million) to Iraq, about 50 million of that through European Union funds, to which France also contributes.

"That all together is what we can offer," German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer recently told journalists. "You know the budgetary situation and you know the difficulties we are having in the budgetary negotiations."

Wieczorek-Zeul is not attending the donors' conference. In what could be seen as a snub to the United States, many European nations, including Germany, have sent only low-level representation to the meeting.

A start, at least

The United Nations expects the conference to only provide initial funding for reconstruction. "In terms of actual contributions, I think the next two days will be a start," said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

He called the conference "an important beginning." "I think we will be able to raise the amount necessary to start the reconstruction of Iraq in a robust and determined manner," Annan told reporters after a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on Wednesday.

Annan said the attendance -- over 70 nations have sent representatives to Madrid -- was a "good sign". Delegations from several international and non-government organizations are also participating.