BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 28, 2007
Study: Iraqis Failing On Reconstruction
Audit Finds Iraq Has Accepted No U.S.-Built Projects In Last Year
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Play CBS Video Video Iraq Takeover At Snail's Pace Iraqi officials need more time to learn how to run many of the reconstruction projects that the U.S. has completed. Security is only one of them. Allen Pizzey reports.
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As money from other nations pays for construction projects of badly-needed infrastructure in Iraq (such as this children's hospital in Basra), a new inspector general report shows that in the past year the Government of Iraq has refused to accept responsibility for any of the 2,362 completed projects paid for by the U.S. (Getty Images/Essam Al-Sudani)
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Interactive Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.
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Photo Essay Iraq In Pictures A daily diary with scenes of the latest attacks and snapshots from the effort to rebuild a nation.
The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said the government here initially agreed to take over the projects but the transfers stalled about a month after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office in May 2006.
That forced U.S. officials to turn the reconstruction to local officials or to commit more money to keep them running.
The report, which was dated Wednesday, found that no completed projects had been transferred to the national government since June 30, 2006. It said 2,362 completed projects valued at $5.3 billion were pending as of May 31.
By contrast, 435 completed projects worth $501 million had been transferred between April 23, 2006, and June 30, 2006, according to the report.
U.S. officials have, however, formally handed 1,576 projects worth $2.6 billion to local officials despite concerns they may not be able to properly finish and run the projects.
The Washington-based agency warned that delays in transferring the projects meant less collateral for the Iraqi government in seeking loans "and could result in additional sustainment expenses for the U.S. governmental agencies that completed the projects."
The report singled out Finance Minister Bayan Jabr, who it said had changed government conditions for the transfers, effectively halting the process at the national level in July 2006.
Jabr and other Finance Ministry representatives could not be reached for comment, and al-Maliki's spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said he had no information about the report.
A senior adviser at the Iraqi Planning Ministry, which is responsible for overseeing reconstruction programs, said the government was willing to take over completed projects unless they had immediate budget implications that would need to be addressed.
"We are in need of these projects," said the adviser, Faik Abdul-Rasool. "If it is completed, we would be very happy to receive that project and start running it unless it has a financial implication on the budget, then this would be delayed."
The assessment was the latest piece of bad news for a U.S.-led war and rebuilding effort that has already cost nearly $400 billion.
Investigators said in an audit three months ago that U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq are so beset with daily violence, corruption and poor maintenance that Iraqis will not be capable of managing reconstruction anytime soon.
Where U.S.-funded projects are built and handed over to the Iraqis, they "are not being adequately maintained," according to the April audit by the inspector general's office.
Sustainability is an important factor in explaining the slow progress in a sectors such as oil, gas, water and electricity.
A $90 million rehabilitation of the Doura power plant failed because local employees didn't know how to operate the turbines and used the wrong fuel, reports CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey.
Lt General Ray Odierno said his troops had a plan in place for Iraq's Diyala Province, but ultimately, it came down to Iraqi forces being able to take over from American troops.
"That's why ultimately our strategy needs to be a deliberate one which allows us to maintain people here to help them over a longer period of time," Odierno said. "This will not be fixed in six months, one year, two years or three years."
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Michelle Obama tells how her role as the First Lady has changed her perspective.
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See all 120 CommentsBremer and the other scum who run, or have ran, the political and economic end of the occupation robbed and are robbing Iraq blind and have left a legacy of death and destruction which will endure long after the invading armies have departed. So many of the projects inflicted upon the Iraqis are shoddy, overpriced and already crumbling.
Down with the Regime! Troops Home Now!
Perhaps they also know that the American version of "Democracy is selective and hypocritical"
After all, we imposed it on them with an invasion and ultimatum "The US will not leave before Democratic elections are held" then we gave another ultimatum--"The Sunnis did not participate so we can't leave because the process did not count" So they did it again. Then we still stayed and they knew we were liars and would not leave voluntarily.
The fact is, "Democracy" as America is known for applying it is a euphemism for Imperialism and exploitation to feed the American greed machine. Usually, we install a fake gov or dictator who let's us do what we want with the resources. Be it a puppet regime in Iraq who lets us drill for oil, or fake regimes in the Phillipines and S. America who let us exploit and exhaust resources in the jungles such as teak, rosewood, etc. The fact is, only Americans buy the vision of themselves as selfless heros of the world. Everyone else, knows and experiences a different version of Democracy. So far, the Iraqi version has cost them hundreds of thousands of lives--and they know they owe the pwr vacuum that cause it all--to the US.
The people in some societies haven't demanded a voice in their government. The Middle East remembers the West for the Crusades, but they missed out on the Rennaisance and don't share the centuries during which the Magna Carta has been the minimum in citizens' rights. Handing them democracy unbidden, seems like a trap to them. Democracy is the antithesis of everything in their history, but theirs is the way they know and have adapted to. Democracy is the unknown and therefore it's frightening.
We impose our standards upon other countries at our own risk. An imposed democracy often changes elected leaders into the new dictators.
This is a difficult one. On one hand, the Iraqi people need to step up and rebuild their own infrastructure........on the other hand, we are the ones who attacked them (for no reason other than Bush wanted a photo op on the aircraft carrier), so we should apologize, clean up our mess, restore utilities, and leave.
When Bush overthrew, and subsequently hanged, Saddam, he unleashed an internal CIVIL WAR, pure and simple.
Like every thing else, this administration simply denies and/or %u201Cre-names%u201D anything and everything that results from their incompetent/illegal actions.
At first they labeled the uprising %u201Cinsurgency%u201D and then gradually morphed it into, "Al Qaeda sponsored, terrorism".
It is still a civil war and the only reason it has not ended by now is because of the costly (especially in death and injury) interference by U S forces.
As long as we continue to interfere, and unless we choose one side over the other (or others), it will not end.
No Iraqi government can have control until the civil war ends, deciding WHO will be in control.
Only then can they responsibly take over any %u201Creconstruction%u201D in Iraq.
Colon Powell said, %u201CIf you break it you own it%u201D.
However, continuing to Spend/waste life and fortune in the midst of a civil war is like continuing to wipe-dry outdoor seats during a downpour.
I heard that Bush and Kerry both belong to Skull and Bones.
The Skull and Bones society figures prominently in recent film Matt Damon film, "The Good Shepherd."
Audio and transcript the April 23, 2001 ABC News segment: Behind the Closed Doors of a Secret Society - ABC News' Dan Harris reports on covertly shot footage that exposes the "Bonesmen" of Skull & Bones as they preform occult rituals at "The Tomb" in New Haven. The video - shot with nightvision technology and a microphone - was secretly captured with a hidden camera on the evening of April 14, 2001 by New York Observer reporter Ron Rosenbaum. Link has additional pertinent information, as well.
Who in their right mind would join a club called Skull and Bones with your club house being called "The Tomb"? I'm sure if someone started that in your local town it would be considered Satanic or at the least bizarre...yet our U.S. leaders are all members.
Look it up on Wikipedia and just do a general google search about the skulls and bones for more information.
Wikipedia Definition...The Order of Skull and Bones, once known as The Brotherhood of Death,[1] is a secret society based at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, and is one of the oldest student secret societies in the United States. Skull and Bones has maintained its selective membership and Masonic-inspired rituals since its founding in 1832.
How come I knew before the war their were no WMDs but Bush did anyway. ANd still no one has had to own up the disaster that this war is for the us and the world. And it has only begun. Bush will likely get what he wants now - armageddon.
....George W. Bush:
"Saturday, January 29, 2005
RADIO ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION
Tomorrow the world will witness a turning point in the history of Iraq, a milestone in the advance of freedom, and a crucial advance in the war on terror. The Iraqi people will make their way to polling centers across their nation...
Tomorrow's election will add to the momentum of democracy. One Iraqi, speaking about the upcoming vote, said, "Now, most people feel they are living in darkness. It is time for us to come into the light." Every Iraqi who casts his or her vote deserves the admiration of the world. And free people everywhere send their best wishes to the Iraqi people as they move further into the light of liberty.
Thank you for listening."
Hardly anybody is listening to you any more, you stupid sonofab*itch.
"S*CREW THE USA.
SUPPORT MY AGENDA."
USA's PLEDGE 2 THE WORLD GIVEN BY JFK!!
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961
"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961
One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Winston Churchill
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." Albert Einstein
Edmund Burke: All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.
the south is controled by republican christians who should stay in church and out of politics.
" gawd told me to invade iraq "...bush.
the south has a dark and sordid past...
bush is just the latest snake to come out of the south.
war, hate, christian creeps, republican snakes...
that's the south for you, folks!
I respected Carter up until he flip flopped on his statement about Bush. Maybe its his age and is not as sharp as he use to be. You still cannot call a man the worst president ever one day and the next day retract it.
Unfortunately all partys have stooped to flip flopping anymore. I am ready for a new party that represent the American people not the corporations.Campaign finance has to be fixed first and become public campaign finance only.
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