Iraqis wait for humanitarian assistance

    (KRT) WASHINGTON-A top U.N. humanitarian aid official said last week that countries have contributed less than 20 percent of the estimated $2.2 billion that will be needed to provide food, medicine and other necessities to Iraqis for the next six months.
    Ross Mountain, the assistant emergency relief coordinator at the United Nations, said Iraq will face food shortages within two to three weeks and urged the coalition to restore calm quickly to ensure that supplies can be replenished.
    The United States, Great Britain and other European countries have donated some money to the U.N. humanitarian fund for Iraq, but not nearly enough to meet the significant needs of Iraqis devastated by the U.S.-led war.
    Mountain also warned that aid could be delayed by political squabbles within the U.N. Security Council.
    All of this means that Iraqis might not be able to get supplies of food and other essentials before they run out in a few weeks.
    Mountain warned, "Generally there were adequate stocks of medical items, but with looting of hospitals, there are shortages of essential items, such as anesthesia and oxygen."
    Even if the political issues are hashed out within the Security Council, there is still the question of the safety of U.N. workers.