Washington - The United States on Thursday glumly accepted the withdrawal of foreign United Nations and Red Cross workers from Iraq, conceding it could not argue with the rationale behind the decisions.
"I think the first thing to say about some of these drawdowns is it's understandable," State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher said, hesitating before declining to characterise the US reaction as one of "disappointment."
"There's a balance that needs to be struck," he told reporters. "People have a responsibility for their employees. They want to know it's safe and secure and that they're able to operate and carry out their operations."
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"At the same time, we realise how important their work is," Boucher said.
"We support their efforts to maintain security for their employees and we also hope and want them to be able to carry out their very important mission," he added.
His comments followed an announcement by the United Nations earlier on Thursday that it was pulling its last international staff out of Baghdad for security reasons after this week's series of suicide car bombings including one that hit the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Only about a dozen foreign UN staff were still in the Iraqi capital after most of them left following an August 19 attack on the UN's Baghdad office that killed 22 people including top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
The ICRC announced on Wednesday that it would cut some of its foreign staff in the Iraqi capital and boost security for workers who remain as a direct result of Monday's attack that killed two of its workers.
Both decisions were made despite personal appeals from US Secretary of State Colin Powell who said after Monday's attack that a withdrawal from Iraq by the ICRC, the United Nations, or others would be a victory for terrorists.
| 'People have a responsibility for their employees' |
Powell spoke on Tuesday with both UN chief Kofi Annan and ICRC head Jakob Kellenberger about possible withdrawal plans and steps the United States could take to improve security for aid and relief workers in Iraq.
"He talked to them about the difficult decision to be made and expressed clearly his desire... that they would do whatever they could to maintain their operations there," Boucher said on Thursday, recalling the conversations.
"But (Powell) understands there's a balance here," he said. "It's the same kind of balance... that he has to reach with regard to his own personnel and he understands that they have to make a difficult decision."
Boucher also dismissed as "crass and totally unwarranted" suggestions that the United States might retaliate against the organisations for the decisions.
The withdrawals have cast further doubt on US claims that the security situation is improving in Iraq, which is going through some of its deadliest days since the United States invaded in March to bring down Saddam Hussein.
And, they and the attacks that prompted them, have complicated Washington's efforts to forge ahead with Iraqi reconstruction and encourage others to join the effort. - Sapa-AFP
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