October 9, 2003	Thursday	Sha’aban 12, 1424

WASHINGTON, Oct 8: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld complained in an interview out Wednesday that the White House kept him in the dark before revamping US-led stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

Mr Rumsfeld told the Financial Times that he only learned after the fact that the White House was creating a new group, under national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, that will take over some aspects of the occupation.

The New York Times announced the establishment of the “Iraq Stabilization Group” on Monday, citing a senior administration official who insisted the move did not erode the Pentagon’s role as the lead agency in Iraq.

Mr Rumsfeld, who identified the official as Condoleezza Rice, said that the decision did not signal a loss of influence in Iraq for the Pentagon, and that he did not understand why she would tout the memorandum to the media.

Asked why the shift was necessary, the defence secretary brusquely replied: “I said I don’t know. Isn’t that clear? You don’t understand English? I was not there” for Rice’s comments to The New York Times.

At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan downplayed the rare public spat, insisting again that “the Pentagon is the lead agency for our efforts in Iraq.”

The US civilian administration for Iraq, Paul Bremer, “is overseeing the reconstruction effort. Nothing has changed in that respect,” said McClellan.

But the spokesman, who said early this week that Rumsfeld was aware of the pending shift, acknowledged that the defence secretary actually may not have been informed before Ms Rice’s memorandum went out to various agencies.

Condoleezza Rice steers US President George Bush’s national security council, is the president’s closest foreign policy aide, frequently called upon to mediate differences between the US State Department and the Pentagon.

But Newsweek magazine recently said she has struggled with that role as Secretary

of State Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld clashed over Iraq.

PR CAMPAIGN: The revamping comes even as Mr Bush is spearheading an aggressive public relations campaign to counter slipping confidence at home about whether the invasion and occupation of Iraq were worth the costs.

Bush’s approval ratings have eroded, and his 87-billion-dollars emergency spending request for Iraq and Afghanistan has drawn a skeptical welcome from US lawmakers, including several prominent members of his Republican party.

Many are balking at the 20-billion-dollar price tag for reconstruction efforts through September 30, 2004.

Top US officials hold out hope that a donors conference in Madrid late this month will yield more cash for Iraq, amid concerns that Washington’s inability to agree with allies on a timetable for transferring sovereignty to Iraqis may hamper efforts to get other nations to shoulder the burden.

Growing concerns from the US public about the difficult occupation, combined with worries about the ailing US economy, threaten President Bush’s reelection bid.

The US president has repeatedly said that US-led forces are making progress in Iraq, and on Monday he appeared to blame major US media for the public’s growing doubts.

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell when you listen to the filter. The situation is improving on a daily basis inside Iraq,” he said.

Mr Rice was to open the public relations offensive with a speech in Chicago. Mr Bush will follow with speeches in New Hampshire and Kentucky. Vice President Dick Cheney will do the same in an address in Washington.—AFP