By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush has pledged an extra $1.2 billion for rebuilding and creating jobs in Iraq, but some Iraqis doubt it will make much difference unless it is spent wisely and security improves. "The most important issue is providing security first. The $1 billion from America won't do anything with bombs and suicide bombers terrifying people," Jamal Yaseen, head of a steel trading company in Baghdad, said on Thursday. Iraq, which has the world's third biggest oil reserves, expected billions of dollars in foreign funds to pour in after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. But instead of rebuilding, foreign companies have largely stayed away because of the relentless violence. Millions of dollars have also disappeared into the pockets of corrupt officials or gone unaccounted for in the chaotic aftermath of the invasion, when large sums in hundred dollar bills were handed out with little accountability. Yaseen said whether more U.S. money would help depended on whether it was spent wisely. "Maybe a restricted number of people could benefit from this if the Iraqi government knows how to use it in the right way," he said. U.S. taxpayers have already spent more than $20 billion on reconstruction in Iraq, but the Iraqi government has said it needs $100 billion over the next four to five years to rebuild its shattered infrastructure. Iraq's $41 billion budget for 2007 foresees revenues of $33 billion, mainly from oil exports. Officials say the unemployment rate is between 30 and 40 percent, causing hardship that drives people towards militant groups -- a trend Washington hopes to stop with the extra money. But Ali Abdul Razzaq, a Baghdad resident in his 20s, doubted whether the additional U.S. money -- equivalent to around $45 per capita -- and 21,500 more troops would make much difference. "The government has promised us a lot of things but nothing has happened," he said. "The Iraqi cabinet should have taken the decision on a new strategy, not the Americans ... They will create jobs for the Americans, not for the Iraqis." Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam, executive manager of the Iraqi Stock Exchange, said the extra U.S. money could help if it was administered properly by Iraqi officials. "All donations must go to the ministries which have economic projects to use the money in a proper way and to ensure that the unemployed get solid jobs," he said. "The planning and trade ministries have projects to improve the private sector in Iraq and the U.S. donation could help to implement that goal and then it could offer a large number of jobs to Iraqis." Last August, the top U.S. auditor for Iraqi reconstruction said that $6 billion of the $22 billion Washington was already spending on rebuilding postwar Iraq had been swallowed up by the cost of protecting sites from attacks.
