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BOB ABERNETHY: As U.S. officials try to get Iraq working again, and organize an interim government, urgent questions about humanitarian aid for Iraq's people. How can aid workers be kept safe enough so they can do their work? How can they maintain their independence from the U.S. military? And should Christian aid workers try to evangelize Iraqi Muslims? Kim Lawton has that story.
KIM LAWTON: The U.S. government's point man for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance, retired Lieutenant General Jay Garner, arrived in Iraq this week to guide the journey to recovery. As he toured various areas, he was upbeat about the prospects.
Lt. General JAY GARNER (Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance): You are going to see the Iraqis fixing the country for themselves,
and we are going to facilitate that. We are going to help them where we can; where we can provide them with supplies, where we can get things for them, where we can give them assistance, we will do that.
LAWTON: More and more aid has been arriving in Iraq -- most under the auspices of the coalition forces. But nongovernmental aid workers say the humanitarian situation is still very complicated, with many tough challenges ahead. The most immediate concern is security.
NANCY LINDBORG (Vice President, Mercy Corps): Security is absolutely essential for being able to deliver effective assistance.
LAWTON: Relief truck drivers are still being shot at on the way into the country. Many charities have been looted and grain warehouses set ablaze. Even in areas where lawlessness has been contained, aid workers say things are still too unstable to establish permanent programs.
Ms. LINDBORG: I think the major concerns on the security front are the power struggles that are starting to emerge where you have different self-proclaimed leaders taking control, gathering constituencies, creating checkpoints, having armed militia, more or less, available to support their claims. And it is unclear who is taking charge and what that might mean.
LAWTON: Many groups also fear the levels of anti-American sentiments.
GUSTAVO CROCKER (Vice President of Programs, World Relief): There is going to be quite a bit of work in trying to regain the appreciation of the Iraqi people.
LAWTON: Even if security is resolved, humanitarian agencies say they face several complex practical and moral issues. One is the type of relationship they should have with the U.S. military, which is still overseeing operations there.
Mr. CROCKER: Ideally, you should have a separation between humanitarian work and military activity. That's the ideal scenario. However, we understand the local conditions may not allow for that ideal scenario.
LAWTON: Until now, the military has been directing aid delivery. General Garner's reconstruction office is run out of the Pentagon, something that deeply troubles nongovernmental agencies.
JIM JENNINGS (President, Conscience International): An occupying power has a responsibility to care for the civilian population, but to hand over that administration as soon as possible to the international aid community.
Ms. LINDBORG: We believe that it very much compromises the ability for humanitarian organizations to stay independent if they are brought into a command structure under the Pentagon's control.
LAWTON: For faith-based groups, another controversial question is the extent of religious activities such as evangelism as part of relief work in Iraq. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board Web site, for example, is recruiting volunteers and donations for Iraq.
Evangelist Franklin Graham's relief group Samaritan's Purse also has plans in Iraq. Graham has generated controversy for calling Islam a[n] "evil and wicked religion." Samaritan's Purse works in nearly 100 nations, including many Muslim countries. One of its best-known programs delivers Christmas aid and gifts to children.
KIM LAWTON: The U.S. government's point man for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance, retired Lieutenant General Jay Garner, arrived in Iraq this week to guide the journey to recovery. As he toured various areas, he was upbeat about the prospects.
Lt. General JAY GARNER (Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance): You are going to see the Iraqis fixing the country for themselves,
and we are going to facilitate that. We are going to help them where we can; where we can provide them with supplies, where we can get things for them, where we can give them assistance, we will do that.LAWTON: More and more aid has been arriving in Iraq -- most under the auspices of the coalition forces. But nongovernmental aid workers say the humanitarian situation is still very complicated, with many tough challenges ahead. The most immediate concern is security.
NANCY LINDBORG (Vice President, Mercy Corps): Security is absolutely essential for being able to deliver effective assistance.LAWTON: Relief truck drivers are still being shot at on the way into the country. Many charities have been looted and grain warehouses set ablaze. Even in areas where lawlessness has been contained, aid workers say things are still too unstable to establish permanent programs.
Ms. LINDBORG: I think the major concerns on the security front are the power struggles that are starting to emerge where you have different self-proclaimed leaders taking control, gathering constituencies, creating checkpoints, having armed militia, more or less, available to support their claims. And it is unclear who is taking charge and what that might mean.
LAWTON: Many groups also fear the levels of anti-American sentiments.
GUSTAVO CROCKER (Vice President of Programs, World Relief): There is going to be quite a bit of work in trying to regain the appreciation of the Iraqi people.LAWTON: Even if security is resolved, humanitarian agencies say they face several complex practical and moral issues. One is the type of relationship they should have with the U.S. military, which is still overseeing operations there.
Mr. CROCKER: Ideally, you should have a separation between humanitarian work and military activity. That's the ideal scenario. However, we understand the local conditions may not allow for that ideal scenario.
LAWTON: Until now, the military has been directing aid delivery. General Garner's reconstruction office is run out of the Pentagon, something that deeply troubles nongovernmental agencies.
JIM JENNINGS (President, Conscience International): An occupying power has a responsibility to care for the civilian population, but to hand over that administration as soon as possible to the international aid community.Ms. LINDBORG: We believe that it very much compromises the ability for humanitarian organizations to stay independent if they are brought into a command structure under the Pentagon's control.
LAWTON: For faith-based groups, another controversial question is the extent of religious activities such as evangelism as part of relief work in Iraq. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board Web site, for example, is recruiting volunteers and donations for Iraq.
Evangelist Franklin Graham's relief group Samaritan's Purse also has plans in Iraq. Graham has generated controversy for calling Islam a[n] "evil and wicked religion." Samaritan's Purse works in nearly 100 nations, including many Muslim countries. One of its best-known programs delivers Christmas aid and gifts to children.
World Relief is the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, a group that strongly believes in spreading the gospel. Over the past several weeks, World Relief has helped manage a refugee camp in Jordan for third-country nationals fleeing Iraq. The group says it does not mix evangelism with humanitarian aid. 
JIM SCHIECK (USAID Deputy Administrator): It's a tangible expression of the concern of the people of the United States for the people of Iraq. We want to make sure that there's no food gap, that food supplies will be adequate, and that ultimately, the people of Iraq will be in a better position than they were before the war began.
