U.S. repairs in Iraq may come too late

[othermeans]

"Under the earliest prewar plans by the U.S. military, Baghdad's infrastructure was to be rebuilt by last August, with elections to be held last September and the troops leaving by October.

Most of the money is focused on police and army training and electricity projects. Some of the funds were diverted to pay for rising security costs, and $184-million in drinking-water funds was diverted to pay for the construction of a new U.S. embassy in Baghdad"

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040525/IRAQ25/International/Idx

[Spazito]

1. Wow, that sure gives lie to "look at all the good things happening"

doesn't it! 184 million diverted from drinking water funds for a NEW US embassy, now, I bet that makes the Iraqis real happy, geez!

[NNN0LHI]

2. They are dancing on the rooftops they are so happy n/t

[shraby]

3. And shooting

guns in the air with joy.

[Massacure]

6. But oh no!!! The U.S. has mistaken it for an enemy attack!!! DUCK!!!

[Journeyman]

7. And we're going to build them a new prison, too! . . .

They must be delirious with joy at the prospect. . .

[Just Me]

4. A "plan for victory",....

,...take the BILLIONS of US taxpayer dollars and FLOOD the country with food, clothing, shelter and jobs.

There's an idea!!!!

Would it work?

Well, we cannot know about unknowns,...but we could certainly fucking try something very different and take a chance!!!!

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. 100+ Billion WarBucks, and they can't even supply water ? - disgusting

.
.
.

More from the article:

"BAGHDAD -- As he travels across Iraq, the man in charge of reconstructing the war-shattered country is greeted with a common complaint: If Saddam Hussein could rebuild the country in three months after the Persian Gulf war, why is it taking the Americans so long?"

/snip/

he reconstruction is far behind the original timetable. The budgeted $18-billion did not start flowing until January. About $8-billion was supposed to be spent in the first half of this year, but in reality only about $3-billion in contracts have been awarded so far. (A further $7-billion in contracts have been advertised.)

/snip/

Another common grievance is the relatively small number of Iraqi businesses that have won contracts for reconstruction work. Most of the biggest Iraqi factories were looted after the war and remain idle today. Others find it almost impossible to navigate the complex system of winning tenders from the U.S. government.

"When they give contracts to American companies, it costs triple what it would cost if an Iraqi company did it," said Mohammed al-Sarraf, an Iraqi businessman who owns several factories, including one that turns out bottled water.

"Everything is being imported from outside the country. The Americans don't trust my products. They won't even buy my bottled water. We don't understand their mentality -- they have so many rules and conditions for their contracts."

"they have so many rules and conditions for their contracts"

It's that ABI clause written in invisible ink that's causing the problems

Anyone But Iraqis

And the most "powerful" nation in the world can't supply water and hospital services with over a hundred billion dollars and a year to accomplish it in - -

oH - I furgot

That "power" is the power to destroy

Not to repair or do "nice" things

silly me

(sigh)

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. God, the idiocy of the 'reconstruction' is amazing

"The top American education adviser in Iraq, John Agresto, warned this month that thousands of Iraqi university students are lacking basic supplies such as desks and chairs because the U.S. has provided only about $8-million of the $500-million needed to repair damage from the postwar looting."

All you'd have needed to do was import the basic materials - wood, nails and glue (and there may be plenty of nails and glue there already - I'm guessing Iraq doesn't produce a lot of its own timber). There are bound to be loads of carpenters who can make a start - and the first lesson in some classes can be how to put together more desks and chairs. Iraq used to be a fully functioning country - it waged an eight year war against Iran. All you needed to do was supply raw materials they didn't have, some money to buy the end products, and a careful eye on where the money goes - until you know which Iraqis aren't corrupt (eg followers of Chalabi).