In an Oil-Rich Land, Power Shortages Defy Solution

[Khephra]

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 7 — Nine months after the American-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, frequent breakdowns in supplies of fuel and electricity, especially in Baghdad, are defying attempts by both Iraqis and foreign occupiers to stitch together something resembling normalcy here.

Increased fuel smuggling — a phenomenon that stretches back at least a quarter century — has now added to the already familiar litany of problems including sabotage by insurgents and an infrastructure weakened by decades of war and sanctions. Three influential Shiite ayatollahs recently went so far as to issue fatwas, or religious decrees, prohibiting followers from smuggling and oil profiteering.

In addition, the American bureaucracy for awarding contracts and releasing funds, pilloried by Congress for giving away money too easily, nevertheless moves too slowly to satisfy Iraqis, whose impatience is fertile ground for more acts of rebellion.

"There's a large set of people who are neutral and their patience is wearing thin, and they can join those against us," said Col. Kurt Fuller, commander of the Second Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, which has responsibility for much of south Baghdad. Back in August, the colonel saw a direct link between the lack of electricity and increased attacks on his soldiers, he said, when power went out in an area called Abu Desheer.

more............

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/08/international/middleeast/08ENER.html

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Good article

One of my rethuglican friends keeps (smugly) telling me, have patience, it takes time.

Time is running out in more ways than one.

[revcarol]

2. By all means, lower expectations.

Say the situation defies solution...ARRRRRGGGGHHH.

Wanna bet that if the U. S. weren't there, that the Iraqis, with enough resources, would have electricity within a few weeks. It's the U. S. presence and greed of the contractors that is destabilizing the situation. Hell, they ran it by themselves before.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. The solution: Get the f**k out

A new dictator would emerge within a month or two and things would be back to normal in no time. The alternative is unending grief for everybody.