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Iraqi minister: Empowerment under way
(CNN) -- In his address this week to the U.N. General Assembly, President Bush warned that Iraq's self-rule should not be rushed "by the wishes of other parties." Other Western leaders such as French President Jacques Chirac have called for a swift empowerment of an Iraqi government. CNN Anchor Carol Costello on Wednesday asked Nasreen Barwari, Iraq's minister of public works, whether her country is ready for self-rule. COSTELLO: [As the] minister of public works, you've got to have the hardest job in the world these days. BARWARI: I do, but it's also work that keeps me in touch with all of the Iraqis across the country. Progress is made in Iraq by the virtue of my appointment [to] the Cabinet. ... Much more work has been done, and much more needs to be done. COSTELLO: Well, you know, we hear all of the bad things. We hear about the looting. We hear about the killing. We hear about there being no electricity. Tell us something good. How many people have electricity to depend on 24 hours a day in Iraq? BARWARI: Well, we have to always remember that neglect on public services is something we all inherited after April 9 [with the fall of Baghdad]. Iraq did not have a good public service or essential services met. So, all we're busy doing now in the Cabinet is really restoring to prewar levels. Even though the percentage of coverage is not high ... we're working on it. And that's why we need the help of the international community. We need the help from the U.S. government. We need the supplements, so that we can achieve the coverage that the Iraqi people deserve that will contribute to the stability and the progress. COSTELLO: Is the Iraqi Governing Council prepared to take total control right now? BARWARI: Iraqi people have to be in the driving seat. However, we need help. COSTELLO: So that means it's not ready? BARWARI: Well, we are a country of scientists and engineers, and there is a lot of skills and capacity there. It needs to be supported and helped through the process. COSTELLO: [Iraqi Governing Council President] Ahmad Chalabi ... was at the United Nations in New York. In fact, he may be still here. He says that the Iraqi Governing Council should take control right now. France thinks it should take control in a couple of months. What do you think? What's a timetable? Can we set a timetable? BARWARI: We need to be involved in the process of the reconstruction of our country. We need to be involved in the decision-making and the implementation. And our decisions should be developed jointly with the coalition and the Coalition Provisional Authority. COSTELLO: So -- I don't know. I didn't hear a timetable in there. So is there -- will it be a year? Will it be two years? Can it be six months? BARWARI: Well, I don't like to give any timetable. All I'm saying -- if progress is made, empowerment for the Iraqis is happening with each day, and I think we have a lot of hope for the very near transit of authority. COSTELLO: Well, Ahmad Chalabi is here saying that total control needs to be turned over to the Iraqi Governing Council. Might that create a rift within the Governing Council? And has it created a rift between Chalabi and President Bush? BARWARI: Well, I think ... both sides [need to] talk to each other and look for ... engagement in ways that satisfy the Iraqi people and also satisfy the American policymakers who are involved in the reconstruction of Iraq.
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