Safety Concerns Grow As Handover Nears. Security in Iraq has become such a pressing concern that the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority is increasing by more than $500 million the amount to be spent on new protective forces and facilities as it prepares to transfer limited authority to an interim Iraqi government on June 30. Responding to what it described as the “recent upswing in violence,” the occupation authority’s Program Review Board, which has the final word on spending Iraqi oil money, approved a $500 million fund last month to meet “the urgent need for increased security as Iraqi sovereignty approaches,” according to official notes from the meeting. The money will be used for “security-related reconstruction and military needs” that are still to be decided, the notes say. Full Story
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