US asks us to pick up litter while city is in ruins, says mayor of Baghdad

[dogday]

Baghdad's mayor lashed out at the United States yesterday – for spending huge sums on projects to collect rubbish and plant trees while his devastated war-torn city struggles without electricity.

At a meeting in the city's Green Zone the mayor, Sabir al-Isawi, interrupted US officials in the middle of a presentation to key Iraqi officials, to say these schemes are "not what the people want".

He was echoing the feelings of many critics of America's priorities since Baghdad's infrastructure was all but destroyed since the US-led invasion in 2003.

On average, residents get only two hours of electricity a day, and are bitterly angry that the world's most powerful nation has not delivered a single major power plant in four years of occupation.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=CJYYCWG3GNP2BQFIQMGCFF4AVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2007/03/03/wirq03.xml

[malaise]

1. Bushco is being exposed

all over the planet.

[CJCRANE]

2. Americans don't want Bushco help either

judging by their results (or lack of them) in New Orleans and Walter Reed.

[grytpype]

3. Decisions get made in the White House by Bush's friends, and everyone has to go along with it.

That's the pattern. They never listen to the people they are supposed to be trying to serve. They do what they want.

[Benhurst]

4. Why not give every citizen of Iraq a small American flag to wave?

If all the flags were waved at once, air conditioning would be unnecessary, eliminating a tremendous drain on what electric power is available.

The World's Only Superpower, winning their minds and hearts one bullet at a time.

[dogday]

5. As long as everything looks beautiful on the outside

we don't have to worry our beautiful minds about their electricity...

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. Hey, cmon, give us a break - the folks back home can't see no

electricity on the nightly news, but they can see litter. Pick up the litter, plant the new trees to replace the ones cut down for firewood, and the US public will SEE that Iraq is improving.

Victory is all in the perception of victory, after all.

[fooj]

12. Perception and projection...

[Rosemary2205]

7. Image is all Bushco has ever cared about.

this idiocy is SOP for them.

[TahitiNut]

8. C'mon, mayor ... build a Potemkin Village for the cameras.

:puke:

[KansDem]

9. Well, at least the US instigated a "no smoking" campaign since the invasion...

While Baghdad burned, American officials revamped the Iraqi tax code and mounted an anti-smoking campaign.

Amazon

Yeah, we'll "shock and awe" you with 2,000lb bombs, rape your women, waterboard your men, rip down and tear up your whole country based on a lie, but godammit you'd better not smoke!

[WinkyDink]

10. Insane. Seriously psychotic. I guess now Laura and other Republic women

will wax over the "landscaping" that is "beautifying" Baghdad.

[fed-up]

11. this needs one more rec for greatest page n/t

[dogday]

13. Kicking for the evening crowd....

[Robbien]

14. The mayor is expecting too much. We don't know how to

build power plants. Our entire power grid is old and outdated and ready to fall apart. If Baghdad is looking to us for expertise in generating power, they are out of luck.