WASHINGTON, March 11: The United States plans to use the depleted and demoralized Iraqi regular army to help rebuild postwar Iraq, a senior US defense official said on Tuesday.

The official also told reporters that the United States is hiring Iraqis living in the United States, Britain and elsewhere in Europe to help coordinate reconstruction and humanitarian efforts after any war.

US officials administering postwar Iraq intend to begin the repairs of any damage that may be inflicted by the current Iraqi government to the country’s oil fields and pipelines, the official added. The United States has accused President Saddam Hussein of planning to harm the oil industry as part of a “scorched-earth” policy in the event of war.

“But I don’t intend to be the guy that sells Iraqi oil. The oil belongs to the Iraqi people,” the official said.

He said that over time, some of the revenue from the future sale of Iraqi oil will go to the reconstruction of Iraq, to build schools, hospitals, power facilities and improve roads.

The official said the United States plans to “take a good portion of the Iraqi regular army” to perform tasks such as engineering, road construction, work on bridges, removing rubble and land mines in postwar Iraq. Analysts estimate that the regular Iraqi army numbers more than 300,000 troops.

The official said members of the elite Republican Guards and the Special Republican Guards, aligned closely with Saddam, would not be part of this effort.

“The regular army has the skill sets to match the work that needs to be done in construction,” the official said.

The United States planned to pay the Iraqi army, as well as members of a police force and a judiciary. He gave no cost estimate but said money for the plan would be included in an upcoming request for supplemental funding to Congress planned by the Bush administration.—Reuters