Informant38

Radio Netherlands�Amsterdam Forum:
How is the US's plan for the reconstruction of Iraq progressing and how much of a say in it do Iraqis really have?
In May, Dutch-Iraqi economist and social scientist Isam al-Khafaji answered a call from deputy US defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz to return to Iraq and join the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council.
Now he is disillusioned and back in the Netherlands, saying he was at risk of becoming 'more of a collaborator with an occupying power than an advisor and liberator.'
Advisors were left with little or nothing to do, he says. 'The message from the Americans was clear:�Thanks, but now shut your mouth, we'll take it from here.' We didn't give up our jobs at universities in the US and Europe for this."