JORDAN

JORDAN
Jordan Times, Amman, May 6: With all the theories and plans -- some of them absurd -- being floated for the political and economic reconstruction of Iraq, wisdom, common sense and principles appear more and more as rare commodities.
That is why it's refreshing to listen to Adnan Pachachi, a veteran diplomat and politician who served in several Iraqi governments before the advent to power of the Baath Party.
Pachachi was against the war in the first place.
His voice stands out amongst the loudest and most influential against the U.S. monopolization of the political and economic reconstruction of Iraq.
Firm voice
Contrary to other opposition figures who have welcomed the U.S. military presence in Iraq and have even asked the American troops to stay for two years, Pachachi is a firm voice against any form of rule by the coalition.
Pachachi sounds like a moderate, democratic voice to which Iraqis could cling at these trying times.
These are figures Iraq now needs. Patriots interested first and foremost in the preservation of state property and assets, vigilant custodians who would make sure that no one takes advantage of the absence of a full-fledged national government to rob Iraqis of what is theirs.
BRITAIN
The Times, London, May 6: The rope on the flagpole is broken and the sandstone-and-timber Ottoman building is dirty and run-down. But the old British Embassy in Baghdad is back in business.
Four diplomats have already arrived, headed by Christopher Segar, the former deputy ambassador when the embassy was evacuated on the eve of the 1991 Gulf war. Of the many countries that at the time broke diplomatic relations with Saddam Hussein, the British are the first to return. Their presence is not merely a symbol of a determination to rekindle a once-close relationship between the two countries; it is a vital step in co-ordinating the aid, political involvement, logistical support and military role for which Britain, as America's principal partner in the war coalition, has responsibility for many months to come.
This is the second British mission in just over a year that has been reopened after the exit of an oppressive regime. In Kabul, the old building had been faithfully looked after by Afghan staff during all the years when civil war and Taliban repression had made normal relations impossible. In Iraq, too, loyal employees had tried to do what they could to secure the property.
Huge economic problems
It will be a long time before such normality obtains. Britain's main concern now is to restore basic functions to Iraq -- water, electricity, food and security. Much has been done in both Baghdad and Basra, but the scale of Saddam's depredations and misgovernment are becoming clear. Iraq, once a food exporter, has seen its agriculture virtually destroyed, its transport network run down, oil industry crippled and basic civil infrastructure neglected. It faces huge economic problems: a new currency must be issued, foreign debts amount to more than 100 percent of its gross domestic product, banking has almost ceased to function and no reliable state statistics have been issued for years. Market signals must replace what is still a command economy.
Britain is aware of these urgent priorities. That is why it has moved swiftly to establish the official civil link between needs on the ground, and expertise -- government and non-governmental -- in Britain. The new embassy must get cracking: it has much to do.