Fears for reconstruction as contractors flee Baghdad

[NNN0LHI]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=520736

The beheading of an American by militants on videotape has sent a wave of fear through Western contractors working on the reconstruction of Iraq.

In the wake of the killing of Nick Berg, 26 who was working on restoring communications towers, there are fears that Western staff and companies may flee Iraq, and the already slow reconstruction effort may grind to a complete halt.

It is a far cry from the bonanza of lucrative reconstruction contracts envisaged before the war, that were supposed to make the invasion and occupation of Iraq a self-financing affair. Today the American group Bechtel employs two security staff for every one of its Western employees in Baghdad. The biggest American contractor, Halliburton, has seen 34 of its employees killed in Iraq.

There is little sign of reconstruction. Electricity is still only available for 12 hours of the day in Baghdad, a city of 5 million people. There is no sign of road building, and Baghdad's sewer system is collapsing.

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[FlemingsGhost]

But, but, but... Things are better. Saddam is gone.

Why's everyone losing their head?

(on edit: typo)

[NMDemDist2]

1. gets uglier and uglier for Bushit don't it? eom

[reprobate]

12. Couldn't happen to a more deserving asshole.

[LibLabUK]

2. Hmm...

Oh what a lovely war!

[aquart]

3. Gosh, maybe they should have let Iraqis rebuild Iraq.

Does this mean Halliburton has to give refunds?

[LibLabUK]

5. Hmmm....

Why should the Iraqis have to rebuild Iraq?

10 years of sanctions and one year of war destroyed the infrastructure and services, neither of which was caused by the Iraqi people.

I think it's time to start talking reparations. Massive reparations (I'm talking 'end of WWI style' reparations).

[starroute]

9. The Iraqis should rebuild Iraq because they can do a better job

Cheaper, faster, more efficient, and it would give jobs to Iraqis, not American mercenaries.

Of course, the other question is who should pay the tab . . .

[T Bone]

14. the tab would be WAY lower with Halliburton and Bechtel cut out

of the equation as middlemen. None of those 'fees' from their Cayman Island banks either.

[saigon68]

4. Time to go boys

Don't let the door hit you in the ass

On the way out !!!!!

[scottxyz]

6. Wouldn't it be ironic...

Freeper website sics the FBI on Berg's father.

Berg's anti-war father gets visit from FBI in US - anti-war Berg Jr gets hassled by US forces (or "extra-constitional" workers) in Iraq - ends up getting killed in an alleged Al Qaeda video where:

(1) the captors' hands are too white
(2) the captors stand in US-style parade rest
(3) the captors' Arabic accent is wrong
(4) one of the captors has been dead since March

Turns out the Freepers/FBI/CIA and their black ops cronies got their Bergs mixed up, and ended up helping kill a pro-war private contractor.

Then... The other private contractors get scared and pull out.

= = =

Kind of reminds me of the way they shot themselves in the foot in the Plame affair - outing an CIA operative who specialized in WMDs.

= = =

All these guys focus on is loyalty and revenge. Getting the job done right is totally beyond them.

[DUreader]

7. I Call Bullsh*t , Iraq Is ATotal Mess, They Try To Excuse All By 1 Murder!

Foreigners are mostly in 'lock down' everywhere. Hardly any reporting comes out of there. Construction has been failing for
months.

Contractors have been streaming for months out because there ain't enough stability to work.

[UpInArms]

8. this doesn't seem to play well

with the "look at all our progress" memos that go out -

you know, the one that states that anytime there is something bad, it's because we're making such great and wonderful progress!

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. When was the last time bush said "we're makin good progress"

In fact, the Iraqis have got him on the run don't they?

[riverwalker]

11. why not hire Iraqis?

They have truck drivers and electricians and construction workers. If unemployment is so rampant, why even use contractors?

[daleo]

13. I suppose this would be one reason to doubt the black ops hypothesis

Of Berg's killing. You wouldn't think that the BFEE would do something that would put the reconstruction money in danger, as this now seems to be doing. Not conclusive though, as they could have either not anticipated this result (they don't really seem to have a great deal of foresight after all) or they could have accepted this short term slowdown as the price for keeping war sentiment high.