Costs for U.S. project in Afghanistan balloon, benefit hyped

[laststeamtrain]

Costs for U.S. project in Afghanistan balloon, benefit hyped
By Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Newspapers Sun Oct 25, 6:00 am ET

KABUL, Afghanistan — Flipping a switch on one of Afghanistan's long-awaited electrical power plants in August, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry urged Afghans to think of U.S. taxpayers' support when they turn their lights on at night.

Only about 6 percent of Afghans are estimated to have electricity, and in his appearance with President Hamid Karzai east of Kabul , Eikenberry hailed the project as part of the country's emergence out of the "darkness" of oppression and isolation.

To some U.S. experts, however, the project is the latest example of exaggerated political expectations and wasted American taxpayers' dollars in the effort to rebuild Afghanistan .

Plagued by delays and rising costs, the project reveals how the U.S. government continues to ignore the hard lessons of Iraq , critics say, where contractors received billions of dollars with little oversight and inspectors have found rampant waste, fraud and abuse.

Far from representing Afghanistan's budding energy independence, the project also demonstrates how dependent the country remains on its neighbors and the U.S.

The Afghan government is expected to need up to $70 million in aid a year to truck in diesel fuel for the plant and at least another $60 million to maintain and repair it. U.S. officials who once envisioned the project as a major supplier of electricity in the region now describe it as an expensive backup system.

<more>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20091025/wl_mcclatchy/3340135

[jwirr]

1. There are no benefits from war unless you are a profiteer.