"What we've been doing is talking to countries -- not only directly, but talking to countries that talk to other countries," said Dov Zakheim, Defense Department comptroller in charge of the Pentagon's role in managing Iraq's reconstruction.

He said the UN's March 28 appeal so far had raised 400 million dollarsmillion euros), with the rest of the 1.7 billion (1.55 billion euros) offered individually by donor states outside the UN framework.

The United States has delivered 541.6 million dollars; Britain has delivered 180 million of 329 million dollars it pledged; Japan and Australia have committed 100 million each; Netherlands promised 21 million and Norway 22 million.

Spain has delivered 32 million dollars of its 56 million dollar pledge; Canada has delivered 7.2 million dollars of the 74 million, Zakheim said in an interview with the daily.

The European Union has delivered 3.2 million dollars of its promised 107 million dollars in relief, while Switzerland has pledged 22 million dollars to be delivered through the United Nations, the Pentagon official said.

The United Arb Emirates are shipping a water purification system and have pledged to set up a hospital in a Baghdad suburb, he added.

Jordan has sent a field hospital to the Iraqi capital, Poland has offered a mobile field hospital and Romania has promised to sent 18 tons of water, food and medicine.

While he said the US government did not have an estimate for what the rebuilding of Iraq would cost, Zakheim estimated that figure would eventually settle around 60 billion dollars.

SPACE.WIRE