US envoy arrives on mission to rebuild Iraq

THE man charged with overseeing the rebuilding of Iraq arrived in Baghdad yesterday as the United States faced growing calls to withdraw from the country.

Retired US Lieutenant General Jay Garner was taken straight to see a looted hospital after arriving in the Iraqi capital.

Mr Garner was accompanied by his British deputy Tim Cross and his initial team of about 19 civilian administrators, which will grow to about 450 over the next week.

He said his priority was to restore basic services such as water and electricity but thousands of Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims walking to the holy city of Karbala called on the US to leave.

"What better day in your life can you have than to be able to help somebody else, to help other people, and that is what we intend to do," Mr Garner said as he arrived from Kuwait, 12 days after US forces secured the Iraqi capital and brought down Saddam Hussein's government.

As his plane touched down, black clouds of smoke still drifted over the city from fires set by looters.

The 65-year-old came to his new post under tight security and gave little information about planned meetings or travels.

From the airport, he visited Baghdad's 1,000-bed Yarmuk hospital, whose wards were stripped by looters.

"We will help you, but it is going to take time," Mr Garner told doctors.

Some were unimpressed.

"If they give us anything, it is not from their own pockets. It is from our oil," said one female doctor.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Chalabi, the Pentagon's favourite to lead Iraq, yesterday denied he was a candidate for the top job. The head of the Iraqi National Congress also said he believed Saddam Hussein was alive and "moving around" in Iraq.