Under new management: Garner plan will divide the country into three zones

Iraq is to be divided into three zones by the interim civil administration headed by the retired American general Jay Garner, whose staff have just established a foothold in the far south of Iraq.

Speaking a day after a team from Mr Garner's Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) arrived in the port of Umm Qasr, a spokesman said the first priority was to bring in aid. "In many ways we are learning as we go," said Major Jeff Jurgensen, one of about 30 officials drawn from US government departments who will set up ORHA's southern region. Other teams will run the central and northern zones.

ORHA's mission is to provide humanitarian assistance, work on reconstructing Iraq and prepare for the eventual creation of an interim government by Iraqis. But amid looting in liberated Iraqi cities and reports of mobs seeking to lynch thieves in Basra, the interim authority faces many pitfalls in restoring order.

Aid organisations believe Iraq is too unstable to send in their workers any time soon, and similar dangers will be faced by Mr Garner and his staff, who are preparing to arrive in Iraq from Kuwait. With official buildings having been the target of both the invading forces and looters, ORHA will experience huge practical difficulties simply in finding somewhere to set up shop.

When international administrators have arrived in similar post-conflict situations, from Kosovo to Afghanistan, one of their main problems has been to find trustworthy local people to work with them among the hundreds who will immediately besiege their offices. Those who appear best-qualified often turn out to have connections with the previous regime, immediately begin selling equipment out of the back door, or ensure that only their relatives are hired.

Willingly or not, the interim administration is likely to be drawn into efforts to restore law and order in Iraqi cities. In Basra, the British military authorities have recruited an unnamed Shia religious leader, or sheikh, in an attempt to curb lawlessness, and similar efforts to restore civil authority are likely in other centres.

Asked whether ORHA would deal with members or officials of Saddam Hussein's Baath party, Major Jurgensen said yesterday: "That's one of the decisions that is still being negotiated."

The experience of Afghanistan has shown, however, that temporary solutions adopted in haste can be difficult to undo later. The old warlords enlisted to help oust al-Qa'ida and its Taliban protectors have proved hard to shift, and are now among the worst problems for Hamid Karzai's interim government, which has little control of the country outside the capital.

Iraq, with the world's second-largest oil reserves, is potentially a far richer nation than Afghanistan. But more than a decade of sanctions have left the oilfields dilapidated and deprived of investment, while 60 per cent of the population is dependent on food handouts from the UN. Restoring the oil industry and creating employment opportunities for Iraqis will require not only sophisticated management but massive amounts of financial aid.

An international battle is already looming over reconstruction contracts, which the US announced would be open only to American bidders. After British complaints, other companies were permitted to act as subcontractors but executives in countries which opposed the war, notably France, suspect that they will be cut out.

Such suspicions may spill over into negotiations on the role of the UN. The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, and his French counterpart, Dominique de Villepin, agreed yesterday that the UN should be central in rebuilding Iraq. But Washington remains less enthusiastic, despite George Bush's words in Northern Ireland, and the UN wants reassurances that its help is wanted.

Suspicions in the West, however, are nothing compared to those in the Arab world, where Mr Garner has been dogged by a statement he signed two years ago, supporting Israel and accusing Palestinians of filling their children with hate. He will also have to cope with infighting in Washington over Iraq's future, notably over the figure of Ahmad Chalabi. In the Pentagon, who ensured he was flown to Nasiriyah this week after 40 years in exile, Mr Chalabi is seen as Iraq's Hamid Karzai; the CIA, meanwhile, has leaked a report which said he and other exiles had little support among Iraqis.

The greatest difficulty for Mr Garner and the ORHA, however, is to avoid giving the appearance of taking over Iraq. While his administration is supposed to last only 90 days, few believe it will bow out so quickly. But even as they celebrate President Saddam's downfall, Iraqis have warned that the Americans must leave – and soon. Ignoring this could prove dangerous for the victors.