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Summary:
Securing foreign contributions to the reconstruction and stabilization of Iraq has been a major issue 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. According to the latest estimates, foreign donors have pledged $13 billion in grants and loans for Iraq reconstruction, but have only disbursed around $1 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.
The March 11, 2004, Madrid bombings and the subsequent pledge by Spanish Prime Minister-elect José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq has raised some concern over foreign support for Iraqi reconstruction and stabilization. Although other coalition members have reaffirmed their commitment to providing security in Iraq since the Madrid bombings, continued violence and terrorist attacks both inside and outside Iraq may affect political will in troopcontributing countries to sustain their force presence.
Prior to the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq on June 28, 2004, Iraqi resistance fighters and international terrorist groups continued to kidnap U.S. and foreign personnel in Iraq, demanding that countries remove their forces from Iraq. In July 2004, Iraqi militants held one Filipino and two Bulgarian workers captive and threatened to kill the hostages unless their respective countries removed their troops from Iraq. The Philippine government has subsequently announced its intentions to withdraw its 50-man military contingent from Iraq in order to gain the release of the Filipino hostage.
This report will be updated as needed to reflect the latest international developments.
For a broader review of foreign support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts and Post War Governance; CRS Report RL31843, Iraq: International Attitudes to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Reconstruction; CRS Report RL32068, An Enhanced European Role In Iraq?; CRS Report RS21323, The United Nations Security Council — Its Role in the Iraq Security Crisis: A Brief Overview; and CRS Report RL31833, Iraq: Recent Developments in Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance.
