posted on August 1, 2005 07:35:11 AM new
Arthur Chrenkoff has been writing a series of articles on the 'good news from Iraq'. Usually he has a column every two to three weeks....which focuses on the postive things taking place in Iraq. We get more than enough of the negative from our MSM...and a touch the positive gives us a more balanced view of what's happening over there.
If you might be interested in reading any of his past articles....I believe there's 30-35 now...just do a google search on 'good news from Iraq'....or his name and you can see all the reports of what actually IS happening there that the MSM don't even mention.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on August 1, 2005 08:26:18 AM new
Juan Cole:
Monday, August 01, 2005
Parliamentary Debate on Election System Collapses
5 US Troops Killed over Weekend
The Sunday news cycle took a roller coaster ride with regard to whether the constitution drafting committee of the Iraqi parliament will be finished by August 15. It must request a postponement by today if it is going to seek one. First, committee chair Humam al-Hamoudi said they might ask for a one-month delay rather than the 6-month delay that is permitted by the Transitional Administrative Law (interim constitution). That seems to have sent President Jalal Talabani ballistic, and he intervened to say that there must be no postponement. He differed in that stance from his Kurdish colleagues on the committee, many of whom were reportedly seeking a six-month postponement. Finally, it was announced that the committee would meet the Aug. 15 deadline for most of the constitution, but might continue working on some particularly contentious articles. I'm not sure that move would be constitutional (I should have thought Aug. 15 was an all or nothing affair). But now that parliament is elected and sovereign, I suppose it may do as it pleases.
On Sunday, LBC reports that Sunni Arab parliamentarians made a push to have the next elections by 18 electoral districts, instead of having Iraq just one district. The latter system, used on Jan. 30, allowed Sunni Arabs to be virtually excluded from parliament. In a district-based system, Anbar would probably get 11 or so seats, and they would be filled by Sunnis, even if the turnout of the voters was light. In a system where all Iraq is the electoral district, nobody might represent Anbar. Al-Hayat says that the change to provincial voting districts was sought by the Shiites of the United Iraqi Alliance.
The Sunnis and/or Shiites did not get their debate, because the Kurdish Alliance and the Iraqiyah list of Iyad Allawi boycotted the session, depriving it of a quorum. They insisted that such a serious debate needed to be announced at least a couple of days beforehand so that all parties could prepare for it, not just sprung suddenly. In a district-based election, Allawi's list very likely would be reduced to 2-4 delegates, since it gets votes only from the small Baghdad and Basra middle class. On Jan. 30, the Iraqiyah garnered 14 percent. The Kurds would also see their 75 parliamentary delegates somewhat reduced. They would get elected primarily from 6 provinces, which would presumably have about 90 seats out of 275. But Kurds would be assured of dominating the delegations of only three of them, while the other three are mixed.
Guerrillas near Mahawil on the way from Karbala to Baghdad attacked a convoy of Ahmad Chalabi's men on Sunday, killing one bodyguard and wounding 3. A guerrilla group announced that they had struck at Chalabi, a deputy premier in the new government. He was not, however, in the convoy, according to his spokesman.
In addition to this attack and the car bombing at al-Haswa early Sunday morning, reported here yesterday, here is Reuters' round-up of deaths in the guerrilla war:
Guerrillas in BAQUBA attacked cooks who were departing a military base, killing one and wounding three.
Guerrillas in KIRKUK assassinated a translator for the US military.
Reuters adds:
"BAIJI - Insurgents attacked a minibus transporting Iraqi civilians working at an American base, killing three and critically wounding three in Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, on Saturday night.
KUFA - Gunmen opened fire on the convoy of Ibrahim Issawi, senior adviser to the environment minister, killing one of his security guards and wounding three on Saturday, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. The attack took place in the southern Shi'ite town of Kufa, about 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad."
Guerrillas killed 5 US troops and wounded 2 others in two separate incidents on Saturday.
The Iraqi Health and Defense Ministries estimate that 4000 Iraqis have been killed in the guerrilla war in 2005, half of them civilian noncombatants.
Robert Fox of the Independent says that British forces in southern Iraq are worried that Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi militia and other paramilitaries in southern Iraq are getting training and funding from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards:
"Last year British troops fought daily gun battles with Shia militiamen loyal to the maverick cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr. This year the number of attacks has dropped, but the attackers appear to have had some highly professional training - almost certainly from militias and elements of the Revolutionary Guard across the border in Iran. The guerrillas now carefully orchestrate their attacks after tracking every move of British patrols by mobile phones, according to soldiers."
They are apparently blaming the recent bombing of a British convoy that killed two private security guards on the Sadrists. They have intercepted what look to be shipments of rocket propelled grenade launchers and other weapons from Iran to the Shiite paramilitaries of the south. Fox adds:
"The British forces hope to have built up the local Iraqi army and police units sufficiently for them to take over security in Maysan and al-Mathana by next year. But while army training is going ahead, the police are proving more problematic - particularly as it is recognised that more than a quarter of them are loyal to Mr al-Sadr. "
The article ignores the likelihood that the Iranians are giving much more support to the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq than to the Sadrists. SCIRI controls about 9 of 11 provinces where Shiites predominate or have a significant proportion of the population.
posted on August 1, 2005 08:30:28 AM new
July 25, 2005
Spc. Adam J. Harting, 21, of Portage, Ind., died in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
July 24, 2005
Sgt. Christopher J. Taylor, 22, of Opelika, Ala., died in Balad, Iraq, when he was hit by mortar rounds while he was exiting a bunker.
July 23, 2005
Sgt. Bryan J. Opskar, 32, of Princeton, Minn., died when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ar Rutbah, Iraq.
July 21, 2005
Cpl. Steven P. Gill, 24, of Round Rock, Texas, died from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Zaidon, Iraq.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis L. Youngblood, 26, of Surrency, Ga., died of wounds received July 15 from an improvised explosive device during combat operations in Hit, Iraq.
July 19, 2005
Pvt. Lavena L. Johnson, 19, of Florissant, Mo., died in Balad, Iraq, of non-combat related injuries.
July 17, 2005
Lance Cpl. Efrain Sanchez, Jr., 26, of Port Chester, N.Y., died as result of a non-hostile incident at Camp Blue Diamond, in Ramadi, Iraq.
Spc. Ronnie D. Williams, 26, of Erlanger, Ky., died in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained on July 16 in Baghdad, Iraq, when his tank left the road and entered a canal during patrol operations.
Staff Sgt. Frank Tiai, 45, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, died in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position.
July 16, 2005
Sgt. Travis S. Cooper, 24, of Macon, Miss., died in Balad, Iraq, from wounds sustained the previous day in Baghdad, Iraq, when an inprovised explosive device exploded near the vehicle he was searching.
Sgt. 1st Class Ronald T. Wood, 28, of Cedar City, Utah, died in Kirkuk, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
July 15, 2005
Spc. Jared D. Hartley, 22, of Newkirk, Okla., died in Taji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
July 14, 2005
Pfc. Timothy J. Hines, Jr., 21, of Fairfield, Ohio, died on July 14 at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., from wounds sustained on June 19 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Staff Sgt. Tricia L. Jameson, 34, of Omaha, Neb., died in Trebil, Iraq. Jameson, a health care specialist was responding to a casualty incident when a secondary improvised explosive device detonated near her location.
Cpl. Clifton B. Mounce, 22, of Pontotoc, Miss. and
Cpl. Christopher D. Winchester, 23, of Flomaton, Ala. died when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Trebil, Iraq.
July 13, 2005
Spc. Benyahmin B. Yahudah, 24, of Bogart, Ga., died in Baghdad, Iraq, where a vehicle borne improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol.
July 11, 2005
Sgt. Timothy J. Sutton, 22, of Springfield, Mo., died in Baghdad, Iraq, where his vehicle struck a land mine.
July 10, 2005
Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Goodrich, 32, of Allegheny, Pa. and
Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Kovacicek, 22, of Washington, Pa. died from enemy indirect fire while conducting combat operations in Hit, Iraq.
July 9, 2005
Pfc. Eric P. Woods, 26, of Omaha, Neb., died in Tal Afar, Iraq when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device that caused the vehicle to overturn.
Spc. Hoby F. Bradfield Jr., 22, of The Woodlands, Texas, died in Tal Afar, Iraq while he was conducting a dismounted cordon search.
July 8, 2005
Sgt. Deyson K. Cariaga, 20, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died in Al Hammadi, Iraq, when the vehicle in which he was riding struck a land mine.
July 5, 2005
Pvt. Anthony M. Mazzarella, 22, of Blue Springs, Mo., died July 5, in Taji, Iraq, when the vehicle in which he was riding accidentally rolled over.
Spc. Christopher W. Dickison, 26, of Seattle, Wa., died July 5, in Baqubah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his patrol.
Staff Sgt. Scottie L. Bright, 36, of Jackson, Miss. and
Cpl. Lyle J. Cambridge, 23, of Shiprock, N.M. died in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during patrol operations.
July 3, 2005
Staff Sgt. Jeremy A. Brown, 26, of Mabscott, W.Va., died in Mosul Iraq, from injuries sustained earlier that day in Tal Afar, Iraq, where the vehicle in which he was riding accidentally rolled over.
Spc. Ryan J. Montgomery, 22, of Greensburg, Ky., died in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while his unit was conducting convoy operations.
posted on August 1, 2005 09:14:20 AM new
Lindak, is your "Arthur Chrenkoff" blogger any relation to your mystery "Chernoff" man <snicker> that you talked so highly off... the one who also said the same crap about Iraq..... like how they were producing more electrical power than ever and that things were booming right along?
More yada, yada, yada yakety yak.
"about to be"
"will be"
"is making a deal"
"estimates"
"should soon be"
"are expected to"
"trying to help"
Why not tell the TRUE story? Who are you trying to fool?
Much of the funding isn't there....... the money just disappeared and other funding is going towards security costs.
There is some progress but much of the work is destroyed again and the Iraqis aren't being trained to take care of the equipment.
Oil and electricity production is below pre-war levels and water is a major problem as well as health care.
There is high unemployment as foreigners are getting most of the jobs, not the people of Iraq and they are the ones that deserve first chance at them.
posted on August 1, 2005 09:26:53 AM new
Chimpchamp, I said there is some progress but until there is sufficient electricity and water, and trained workers to take care of the equipment, things won't improve very quickly. It's the reality.
Perhaps you don't understand my viewpoint but from the very beginning I've thought that the Iraqi people have been treated unjustly and I would love for their country to get better and I hope that there will eventually be worldwide support for the reconstruction.
posted on August 1, 2005 09:45:35 AM new
chimpchamp - I like that....'shake their snow globe worlds'.
Glad to see someone else can clearly see how they always react to any good news coming from Iraq. It's a shame though.
--------------------
All the 'good news articles' I post since the war began, from this writer, have mentioned all the countries that CURRENTLY ARE helping out in Iraq...in many different ways.
--------------
And yes, kiara, I did accidently use the name of an NIH person, but I'm sure you had the ability to do as I had suggested you do....type into search 'good news from iraq' and many of his articles would have appeared.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on August 1, 2005 09:54:13 AM new
I fully understand the reality of the conditions in Iraq and I don't need some biased blogger or uninformed Vendio user to try to tell me otherwise. As I've said before, just because you can google something, it does not make it the truth.
posted on August 1, 2005 10:04:43 AM new
LOL kiara...you really crack me up.
Won't listen to ANY bloggers????
helen does all the time....ol' juan cole for one example....kos for another.
The difference between the 'good news from iraq' series is that this gentleman actually gives links to the NEWS REPORTS....not his own opinion...of what's happening in iraq....and what other countries are reading about in their NEWS PAPERS.....what would leaders are saying....
....so stay as misinformed as you wish....the links provided are the PROOF of the good things that are happening. You, helen and others like you have such an adversion to anything positive....you're just negative thinkers....all the time. Not pro-America and our accomplishmens....not pro-US troops accomplishments which also are mentioned, as they happen, on this website.
You're just the 'negativity anti-war left'...who can't handle and refuses to believe anything you don't WANT to believe....factual or not. How very, very sad you and your closed minds are.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on August 1, 2005 10:10:19 AM new
I'm truly sorry if you can't accept the reality that the electrical and water systems are not fully operable in Iraq and until they are, there will be hindered progress. But if you want to go along with a different viewpoint, that's fine with me. Whatever makes you happy.
posted on August 1, 2005 10:28:28 AM new
kiara - What you and other anti-war posters REFUSE to acknowledge...is the shape their infrastructure was in BEFORE we dropped the first bomb.
You repetitively repeat....like parrots....over and over...your same mantra.....electricity...water...sewers...etc.
not up-to-par.
BUT anyone who's read anything about Iraq's situation BEFORE THE WAR....KNOWS that saddam let the whole place go to hell. They NEVER HAD FULL electricity....some parts of Iraq never had ANY at all....same with water plants...sewers...etc.
Plus you always refuse to say anything negative at all about the terrorists who ARE/HAVE destroyed much of the work we and others HAVE done to make the Iraqi citizens lives easier....like rebuilding their hospitals...stock them....rebuilding their schools...supplying them....
...while the terrorists distructive actions you ignore....their destroying the schools, hospitals, blowing up and trying to keep the oil [the funding from that source] from flowing.
NEVER see you anti-war blame those for their destruction. But boy you sure can deny anything good Americans and others are trying to do....and doing there.
Shameful....
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on August 1, 2005 11:03:53 AM newwhile the terrorists distructive actions you ignore
I did say:
There is some progress but much of the work is destroyed again
So sorry I didn't add that the insurgents and terrorists were destroying it. I assumed that others with any intelligence would understand that without it being said. So sorry.
Lindak, believe whatever you wish but don't say what I think or what I know or what you think I deny. Please allow me to speak for myself here. I truly believe that conditions will not improve greatly in Iraq until the electrical and water systems are fully functional. They are much worse now than before the war and I'm sorry that you have trouble accepting that I tend to deal with the reality of the present day.
posted on August 1, 2005 11:26:06 AM new
Linda, I'd like to know why all these reports saying Iraq is a mess and getting worse, are made. What do the news groups in other countries have to gain by reporting lie after lie if Iraq is in such good shape? Are they ALL lying? As for good news, sure there's good news in any bad situation but it still doesn't make the situation itself good.
posted on August 1, 2005 12:01:03 PM new
Linda, you have been posting since the beginning of the war that the war zone in Iraq is lovely. It's time to get your head out of the sand and read something other than Fox news. These are events that have happened so far TODAY.
[b]BAGHDAD, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Following are security incidents reported in Iraq on Monday, Aug. 1 as of 1230 GMT. U.S. and Iraqi forces are battling a Sunni Arab insurgency against the Shi'ite and Kurdish-led government in Baghdad.[/i]
An asterisk denotes a new or updated item. * BAGHDAD - The bodies of 20 people, one of them beheaded, some of them shot and others with their hands bound behind their backs with plastic straps, were found dumped in southwest Baghdad, police sources said.
Reuters witnesses saw the bodies being taken to hospital.
BAGHDAD - Interior ministry official Brigadier Salam Lutfi was killed and two of his guards were wounded when gunmen attacked his car on a highway in eastern Baghdad, a police source said. * KIRKUK - One Iraqi soldier was killed and six injured when a roadside bomb struck near their patrol in Tuz Khurmatu, 60 km (40 miles) south of Kirkuk, a police source said.
BAGHDAD - Two bomb attacks on Sunday killed five U.S. soldiers during patrols in Baghdad neighbourhoods, a U.S. military statement said on Monday.
One soldier was killed and two soldiers were wounded when their patrol hit a landmine in al-Doura, south of Baghdad.
Four more soldiers were killed when their patrol struck a roadside bomb in southwest Baghdad. (Reporting by Faris al-Mehdawi in Baquba, Amir Salman in Tikrit, Walid Ibrahim and Hiba Moussa in Baghdad)
posted on August 1, 2005 12:24:27 PM new
Security Costs Slow Iraq Reconstruction
Contract Excesses Also Hamper Progress
By Renae Merle and Griff Witte
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, July 29, 2005; Page A01
Efforts to rebuild water, electricity and health networks in Iraq are being shortchanged by higher-than-expected costs to provide security and by generous financial awards to contractors, according to a series of reports by government investigators released yesterday.
Taken together, the reports seem to run contrary to the Bush administration's upbeat assessment that reconstruction efforts are moving vigorously ahead and that the insurgency is dying down.
The United States, Iraq and international donors have committed more than $60 billion to run Iraq and revive its damaged infrastructure. But security costs are eating away a substantial share of that total, up to 36 percent on some projects, the Government Accountability Office reported yesterday. The higher security costs are causing reconstruction authorities to scale back efforts in some areas and abandon projects in others.
For instance, in March, the U.S. Agency for International Development canceled two electric power generation programs to provide $15 million in additional security elsewhere. On another project to rehabilitate electric substations, the Army Corps of Engineers decided that securing 14 of the 23 facilities would be too expensive and limited the entire project to nine stations. And in February, USAID added $33 million to cover higher security costs on one project, which left it short of money to pay for construction oversight, quality assurance and administrative costs.
"If we didn't have a bunch of extremists running around trying to derail the progress of the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people and the coalition, the amount of money spent on security would be far less," said Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman. "It is a fact of life, one which cannot be wished away."
Heather Layman, spokeswoman for USAID, said security accounts for an average of 22 percent of a project's cost in Iraq. "We are making some really important and good progress in this challenging environment," Layman said. "Security is part of the cost. But we're doing things like providing clean water and power and building schools."
The new reports were released to Congress yesterday. They were compiled by the GAO and the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, which was created to monitor the rebuilding process.
GAO investigators did find some bright spots: "The U.S. has completed projects in Iraq that have helped to restore basic services, such as rehabilitating oil wells and refineries, increasing electrical generation capacity, restoring water treatment plants, and reestablishing Iraqi basic health care services," the report's authors concluded.
In other areas, developments were less auspicious.
Despite $5.7 billion committed to restoring electricity service in Iraq, power generation was still at lower levels as of May than it had been before the U.S. invasion in 2003. In one case, the GAO reported, the United States led an overhaul of an Iraqi power plant but then did not adequately train the Iraqis how to operate it. A widespread power outage resulted.
Crude oil production has also dropped in the past two years, even with more than $5 billion in U.S. and Iraqi funds available for rebuilding. Oil export revenue is needed to fund more than 90 percent of the nascent Iraqi government's 2005 budget, the State Department has said.
"It's quite clear that we've got massive amounts of taxpayer money funneled into Iraq, with very little oversight and a substantial amount of waste and abuse," said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND). "These are very discouraging reports."
Dorgan said the high costs associated with providing security are particularly troubling.
The government does not know how much it spends on private security contractors in total, the GAO said. But it is more than expected. "Contractor officials acknowledge that the cost of private security services and security-related equipment, such as armored vehicles, has exceeded what they originally envisioned," the GAO said.
The Pentagon estimates there are 60 private security firms with as many as 25,000 employees in Iraq. Some elite personnel make $33,000 a month. But there are no industry standards, and soldiers are not taught in advance how to interact with the armed contractors, according to the GAO.
The use of contractors has led to occasional conflicts with the military. In May, the Marines detained 19 contractors for three days, claiming the contractors fired at them. The contractors, who worked for Zapata Engineering of Charlotte, denied firing at the Marines and said they were roughed up while in custody.
At one point, an Army unit barred private contractors from its dining facilities after the contractors refused to stop carrying their loaded weapons. Soldiers also continue to mistakenly fire on security contractors, despite recently established procedures. Between January and May, 20 such friendly-fire incidents were reported, though the actual figure is probably higher since some contractors have said they no longer report them, the GAO said.
The Department of Defense said it is developing a policy to improve coordination between military forces and contractors and a training strategy for deploying troops on contractor issues. "Training materials would benefit both operational military forces and" contractors, the DOD said in a response attached to the report.
In a separate report yesterday, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction reported that more money than necessary may be going into the pockets of government contractors involved in the rebuilding process.
A review by auditors of 18 reconstruction contracts found that the formula used for doling out special monetary awards, which are above and beyond basic fees, tended to skew them too high.
For instance, the inspector general's office found that a contractor that received an evaluation of "average" performance won award fees of $1.67 million but could have been given just $309,436 under another widely accepted awards system. In a second case, a contractor won no award fees but ended up being paid $439,145 after it appealed because it had not received feedback on its work from the government.
U.S. officials responsible for contracting in Iraq said they were taking steps to improve the award fee process.
Difficulties with contractors also contributed to the challenging reconstruction task in Afghanistan, according to a separate GAO report released yesterday. In 2004, USAID planned to build 286 schools by the end of the year, but because of contractor and security problems, it had finished only eight by September, the report said. The agency did not always require contractors to establish clear objectives or hold them accountable for meeting the targets, the report said.
The reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan together represent the largest U.S. assistance efforts since World War II. In Iraq alone, the GAO said, the United States has allocated $24 billion and has spent $9 billion since 2003.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on August 1, 2005 12:35:41 PM new
Iraq reconstruction riddled with waste, audits find
By David Wood
The Seattle Times
July 4th, 2005
WASHINGTON The U.S.-led reconstruction of Iraq, a strategic cornerstone of the war on terrorism, has been badly mismanaged, according to a growing body of evidence compiled mostly by U.S. government auditors.
Billions of dollars some of it in shrink-wrapped bundles of $100 bills airlifted to Baghdad from the Federal Reserve Bank in New York should have helped pay Iraqi bureaucrats, fix power lines and build schools. Instead, much of it can't be properly accounted for and millions have been stolen, auditors say.
In a nationally televised speech Tuesday from Ft. Bragg, N.C., President Bush acknowledged that "rebuilding a country after three decades of tyranny is hard, and rebuilding while at war is even harder. Our progress has been uneven, but progress is being made."
Bush did not offer a plan to get reconstruction back on track in the middle of a hot war. Nor did he offer to fix the U.S. administrative shortcomings or suggest how to tackle corruption in Iraqi government offices, a problem compounded by lax U.S. oversight.
On the streets of Baghdad, U.S. military commanders began complaining early that the money rarely seemed to trickle down.
"We're losing the peace," a frustrated U.S. Special Forces Maj. Robert Caffrey said in June 2003 as Iraq teetered between the euphoria of seeing Saddam toppled and frustration at a U.S. occupation that seemed to bring no benefits. At the time, Caffrey was furious that he could get no money to foster local government or pay for small clean-up projects and schools.
Now back home in Hartford, Conn., Caffrey wrote last week in an e-mail that "it doesn't seem that much has changed in the last two years. Much to my sadness, when I said two years ago that we were losing the peace, I was more right than I knew.
"I'm astounded they still haven't gotten it right."
A year ago, Iraqis stood in line to buy gas an average of six minutes; today they wait an hour. Eighteen months ago, electricity powered lights and air conditioning across Iraq an average of 13 hours a day. Today, the nationwide average has sunk to 9.4 hours, according to statistics gathered by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
It is difficult to track the precise amount the United States is spending on reconstruction.
The Pentagon has let contracts potentially worth $42.1 billion and currently financed at $25.4 billion for a mixture of military logistics and reconstruction. The U.S. Agency for International Development has signed reconstruction and development contracts worth some $5 billion.
In addition, U.S. occupation authorities in Baghdad spent almost $20 billion in Iraqi money, most from oil sales and formerly held by the United Nations. It was turned over to the United States in 2003 for humanitarian and development programs.
Auditors from Congress' Government Accountability Office, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the U.S. Army Audit Agency and the State Department, among others, have raised serious questions about how all this money was used.
Pentagon investigators, for example, found $219 million in "unacceptable" charges under a contract with Halliburton, the U.S. contracting giant, for the $2.5 billion "Restore Iraqi Oil" program to supply Iraq with fuel and rebuild its oil industry. An additional $60 million in claims were "unsupported" by documentary evidence receipts, in short.
A separate program, the Development Fund for Iraq, was financed by $20 billion in Iraqi money. Between June 2003 and June 2004, nearly $12 billion of the money was shipped to Iraq in cash.
U.S. military auditors including Stuart Bowen, the Pentagon's special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, have detailed millions of dollars that are missing or not properly accounted for. Of $120 million sent to one region for use by U.S. authorities, $96.6 million couldn't be accounted for. In one case, $7.2 million in $100 bills simply disappeared in Iraq, according to Bowen. Two cases of alleged fraud one involving $1.5 million, the other an unspecified amount are pending.
Pentagon auditors found that one Iraqi ministry had been paid to hire 8,206 guards, but only 602 were at work; Iraqi Airways put in claims for a payroll of 2,400 employees when it could justify only 400. U.S. authorities, a Pentagon audit report said, "did not implement adequate controls" to prevent such abuse.
Of about $1.6 billion from the Development Fund for Iraq that went to Halliburton, Defense Department auditors questioned some $218 million in apparent overcharges, including claims for labor, material, subcontracts and administrative expenses.
Although the United States had promised "transparency" in how it handled Iraq's money, the Pentagon has refused to give United Nations auditors full access to Bowen's report. Halliburton was allowed to edit the report before releasing a partial version to the U.N.
"This undermines our international standing and, even more seriously, harms our efforts in Iraq," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who chaired a June 21 hearing on waste and fraud in Iraq.
Cathy Mann, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said questions are "part of the normal contracting process" to be expected in a war zone. A Pentagon spokeswoman, Marine Lt. Col. Rose-Ann Lynch, said the Defense Department "is committed to an integrated, well-managed contracting process in Iraq."
Still, with billions of dollars cascading into Iraq, much of it in cash, "corruption thrives," concluded a study released by the U.S. Institute of Peace, the congressionally chartered research organization.
"We had great difficulties in monitoring" expenditures, said Sherri Kraham, a U.S. official who served in Baghdad in 2003. She said the occupation authorities needed "more people on the ground who were experienced, who knew Iraq, knew Arabic and could move faster."
Gen. John Abizaid, the senior U.S. military commander in the Middle East, was asked at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing June 23 whether these problems still hampered the U.S. effort.
"I believe there are clear indications we have got to do better in this," he said.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on August 1, 2005 01:10:56 PM new
To me this disproves what so many of the ultra-liberals here constantly say....they pretend that they're the 'opened minded ones', they're NOT the sheep we are...following blindly.....and yet as can be seen, QUITE CLEARLY on this thread alone.....mention ANY bit of good news from Iraq....and they're ALL off to copy and paste heaven. LOL LOL LOL
Can't even be opened minded enough to read a little bit of good news.....nope....only feed them all the negativity and they THRIVE. how sad for all of you.
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KD - Linda, I'd like to know why all these reports saying Iraq is a mess and getting worse, are made.
Saying it's a mess would be forming an opinion.....so according to just who's reporting what....they're giving their personal opinion. But we're all aware, KD of the deaths and injuries that are happening everyday. That's not being denied. What I'm saying is that our leftist MSM is ONLY reporting the hardship.....that works for THEIR anti-Bush administration agenda, anti-war agenda....they want to influence the American public that we should withdraw.
What do the news groups in other countries have to gain by reporting lie after lie if Iraq is in such good shape?
News groups abroad and a few from our country....who have people on the ground in Iraq....are giving their side of the story. They are trying to point out the positive things that are being accomplished. That's NOT a bad thing. And to your question.....I'd say most likely it's their anti-American views because THEY didn't want us to go into Iraq either. Or...many have just been anti-anything-American...for decades. Or their also LEFTIST leaning news sources.
Are they ALL lying?
See, KD, what you and others aren't comprehending is that writing about, making people aware of the positive things that ARE occuring in Iraq.....doesn't automatically discount the hardships of war.....any war.
As for good news, sure there's good news in any bad situation but it still doesn't make the situation itself good.
I disagree with that statement, KD. I KNOW there are many American's who think giving both Afghanistan and Iraq their freedom....is a WONDERFUL, POSITIVE thing. Bringing change about in the ME will insure that more ME countries will want to be free and not be led b dictators/desposits/etc.
You enjoy freedom, we enjoy freedom and there's no reason why people in the ME can't do the same. America has always maintained a policy of freedom being the best way to promote/bring about peace between nations. Imo, in the long run....it will bring more peace to our world. But it's a struggle for sure....and it's going to be a LONG struggle.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on August 1, 2005 04:25:21 PM newCan't even be opened minded enough to read a little bit of good news.....nope....only feed them all the negativity and they THRIVE. how sad for all of you.
Just like you, who can not admit, that even some of our soldiers are speaking out against the war. But I guess in your mind they are Un-American and unpatriotic. Well you can't be open minded when everything in your mind is either right or wrong.
Just like the sock puppet you are - obey orders without even thinking for yourself. Just another mindless drone.
Perhaps if you trying getting your "Good News from Iraq" stories from an unbiased source you may be more believable.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
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President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
[ edited by logansdad on Aug 1, 2005 04:33 PM ]
posted on August 1, 2005 04:48:46 PM new
Lindak, my remarks were about the over-all situation in Iraq and I didnt realize that we were supposed to only laud Chrenkoff the bloggers so-called good news.
At the risk of upsetting you once again with my opinion I will say that not all media reporting the conditions in Iraq is leftist or slanted. Anyone that has been following the news for a couple of years will see and read good stories also.
One has to look at the entire picture and realize that it is not negativity to report the bad things as well. It is reality. Im sorry if that disturbs you.
Claims that reporters ignore positive news "do not carry much weight," says Reuters' Baghdad bureau chief Andrew Marshall, after two years in the war zone. Yes, there has been some progress, but the civilian carnage continues. And he predicts: more reporters will die as well.
"I regard the charge that journalists in Iraq are skewing their reporting and focusing 'too much on bad news' as ill-informed, and a great insult to the Iraqi people. Many of those who criticize Iraq coverage seem to be suggesting that the media should somehow play down or ignore the fact that so many Iraqi civilians are being killed. It's an attitude that implies that Iraqis are not entitled to the level of safety and security enjoyed by people elsewhere in the world. Of course, some progress is being made in Iraq. Many people in Iraq, including U.S. soldiers, are doing their best to rebuild the country and improve security. But taken in isolation, the renovation of a power plant or the opening of a new school are not a story unless placed in the wider context, and the wider context is that reconstruction is proceeding much more slowly than had been expected."
posted on August 1, 2005 05:31:52 PM newBut taken in isolation, the renovation of a power plant or the opening of a new school are not a story ..
Oh C'mon Helen. There is no news to report if its not bad news. That goes for everywhere, and not just Iraq. Anything good they report is a three minute fluff piece.
Every time they make some progress to fix anything in Iraq, the insurgents are blowing it up again! At this point, the Iraqi's should be angry with the insurgents who are impeding any progress, not the military over there.
posted on August 1, 2005 06:54:13 PM new
Wonder just how many of these accomplishments that have occured in Iraq have been reported on the left's bible...the NYT. I'd bet NONE have been. They don't want anyone to see there's lots of progress being made....and the lefties here don't have the common sense to check out our own Armed Forces websites to hear from our soldiers themselves the accomplishments they're making.
The troops they give lip service to supporting....yea...right.HA HA HA
NO....those FACTS don't fit in with their anti-war agenda.....
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from the DoD website....some accomplishments mentioned in June
Progress Continues in Iraq; Officials Note
June Milestones
American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 4, 2005 Daily accomplishments, both large and small - in governance, security and reconstruction - marked progress toward Iraqi self-reliance as the country marked a year of sovereignty June 28. Multinational Force Iraq officials here have compiled a list of notable accomplishments during June:
On June 1, in the first move of its kind, coalition forces officially transferred full responsibility for security at a base in Dibbis to the Iraqi army. Two hundred dignitaries and civilians attended the flag-raising and ribbon-cutting ceremony, where the Iraqi army took full control of base and security operations in the area.
Also on June 1, Iraqi army soldiers, working with coalition aviation assets, conducted their first air assault. About 35 soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, were inserted into a landing zone near several small towns and villages outside Baghdad to conduct raids and door-to-door searches for bomb-making materials and specific persons of interest.
Reconstruction gained momentum in the Nissan district of eastern Baghdad, where major sewer and water projects broke ground in Kamaliya and Oubaidi. After completing a site survey, workers began on the project that ultimately will create a sewer network serving 8,870 homes in Kamaliya. The area has never had underground sewage lines and relies on slit trenches, which leads to sewage pooling in the streets. The project will cost about $27 million and will employ 600 local workers at peak construction times. As the sewer project takes shape, an existing water distribution system will be rehabilitated. About 5,435 homes are slated to receive connections to the water main.
On June 4, Basrah airport began civilian flights, opening the gate for business growth in the region. A week later, regular flights began between Hawler International Airport in Irbil and Baghdad. The flights now run three times per week and open a new avenue to encourage foreign capital investment by improving accessibility to Iraq's capital.
The $100 million Al-Ameen electrical substation, which distributes electricity to other substations around Baghdad, was completed on June 5, after about 10 months of work. Local workers made up 99 percent of the work force.
The Iraqi Navy's Predator Patrol Boats commenced interoperability training with an amphibious transport ship on June 7. The training is teaching the Iraqi navy about ship handling, force protection and weapons handling.
With some help from Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi National Soccer League resumed play June 12. More than 10,000 fans showed up for the first game, held in the Baghdad soccer stadium, and watched Basra beat Dahouk 1-0.
Iraqi police officers, Iraqi army soldiers and coalition forces guarded the stadium, which can hold 45,000 fans. The same team of security forces will provide security for future games, which are scheduled through the end of August. More than 110 soccer uniforms were distributed to local coaches in a ceremony June 15 in Sadr City. Following the ceremony, each coach was presented with 11 complete sets of uniforms to fully outfit their teams.
Iraqi army soldiers rescued Australian hostage Douglas Wood from his captors June 15. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 1st Iraqi Army Brigade, discovered Wood and an Iraqi hostage in the northwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Al Adel while conducting a planned cordon-and-search operation for a weapons cache. Three individuals were detained during the operation. The soldiers also discovered a weapons cache that included four AK-47 assault rifles and a sniper rifle.
In mid-June, construction started on a $1.25 million school project in the Fallujah district of Anbar province. Out of 13 school projects programmed for construction in Fallujah, four are under construction and nine are complete. Some 840 school projects are programmed throughout Iraq; 102 are under construction, and 628 are complete.
On June 19, Iraqi workers finished construction on railroad stations in Balad and Baiji. These facilities will connect Salah al-Din with destinations throughout the provinces, bringing goods to customers and citizens in distant cities. Two important rail projects have already been completed in Kirkuk: the Kirkuk and al-Maraej stations have been rehabilitated.
Throughout the rest of the nation, the Ministry of Transportation has more than 100 rail projects scheduled; 28 are currently being built, while 45 have been completed and are serving the people.
During the same week, the U.S. Marine Corps' 5th Civil Affairs Group and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers kicked off the Property Lease Program in Fallujah. Local residents whose homes were or are currently occupied by coalition forces had leases drawn up. Lump-sum payments were made to eligible homeowners for the total time their houses were being used. The payment will include the amount of rent owed through Sept. 30, 2005.
Iraq joined 80 nations in Brussels for a historic conference on June 21 and 22, focusing on Iraq's reconstruction and paving the way for other nations to develop political ties with Iraq. Iraq's foreign minister also opened the door for further diplomatic ties between Iraq and other Arab nations. Canada announced its ambassador to Jordan also would serve in Iraq, and Jordan said it would send an ambassador to Iraq soon.
On June 22, one of 167 medical clinic projects planned for the country got under way. A $656,000 clinic in the Khanaqin district of Diyala province, in which Baghdad is located, is one of two programmed for construction in the district. Both are now under construction.
Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Iraqi Army Brigade, graduated from the first organized Iraqi Army Leadership Training Course at Forward Operating Base Justice.
As the month drew to a close, Iraqi marines prepared to take over security of the Basrah and Khawr Al Amaya oil terminals. The Iraqi marines had been supported by coalition forces since April 2004, but now planned to take over security of the oil platforms completely.
On June 27, a water treatment project was finished in Kirkuk, which will provide 5,000 people from four villages with clean, potable water, while another began in the northwestern Ninewah province. Eight water projects are programmed for construction in Mosul, and 34 water projects are programmed nationwide. Seven of those are under way, and 18 are complete.
Also on June 27, the Iraqi Navy signed the Iraqi Navy Transition Roadmap aboard the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Normandy. The roadmap outlines the plan for the Iraqi navy to achieve the capability to fully defend Iraqi coastal waters, integrating sea operations, shore support, boarding-and-search and point-defense of oil terminals with an overall command and sustainment program.
U.S. soldiers from Task Force 1-128 and the Iraqi army took a day off from their normal security patrols June 28 and handed out school supplies, clothes and shoes in a few small villages during a combat patrol. The soldiers distributed more than 60 boxes of goods containing more than 100 pairs of shoes, assorted clothes and hundreds of pounds of school supplies such as pens, pencils, notebooks and paper to children and families in the villages of Albouhaswa, Ahmed Hajam and Jaafaral Jalaby.
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(Courtesy of Multinational Force Iraq.)
Related Site:
Multinational Force Iraq
News Archive
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These things COULD be mentioned in the left-leaning MSM....letting all American's know, say each month, what progress and accomplishments are being made.....so they don't go around like the anti-war left making it sound like NOTHING good is happening in Iraq....by US for the Iraqi people. But, of course they WON'T....they would rather give the false impression that nothing is being accomplished over there.
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"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
[ edited by Linda_K on Aug 1, 2005 07:04 PM ]
posted on August 1, 2005 07:40:05 PM new
I said progress is being made (in some areas) and that there are some good stories being reported. These are reported on mainstream news but perhaps you miss all the stories, seeing as you focus on Fox News and your rag sites so much.
Or is this another case where the unbiased media and the left (so to speak) say something that you agree with but you deny that they've said it because it's not what you want to hear them say so you pretend they didn't say it just to suit your own agenda to vent at everyone instead.
Or perhaps you cannot come to terms with the fact that all is not progressing as well as Bush thought it would since it was unplanned and you feel the gut-wrenching desire to defend him all the way even if it means closing your eyes to the reality and facts and the real news that is being reported, good and bad?
Or perhaps you find more comfort in bashing the left than you do in thinking that your leader may not be the perfect god you tout him to be?
posted on August 1, 2005 08:37:22 PM new
Put your c&p where your mouth is kiara.....let's see you post a few links on good news coming from Iraq....from either the NYT, WashingtonPost, or your own CBC. ANY left leaning paper.....
And your 'perhaps' themes couldn't be more wrong, as usual. I read tons of articles from all the different leftist media....I don't see them informing the public about ANY good news from Iraq.
So....let's see your proof to back up your claims. I'd be THRILLED to see ANY left leaning news media giving ANY good news on Iraq. Or are you going to once again use the excuse you're not going to...you don't have to...we'll just have to take your word for it because you don't WANT to provide any proof to back up your statements.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on August 1, 2005 09:43:39 PM new
I prefer CBC as they have excellent coverage of the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism and it isn't left leaning, just factual news.
They had a feature a few weeks ago about the soldiers returning from Iraq and the prosthetics they receive and those who work behind the scenes to make sure that the injured receive the care and benefits due them because they don't always know where to get help and neither do the families as they deal with the shock of adjustment. It was a heartbreaking story to see how very young most of them are but also an uplifting story that they have the will to try to make the best of their lives despite the injuries. CNN has also focused many stories on the returning troops and their injuries and the will and determination to go on and I consider it positive news as the stories may help others who have been injured but not always in war.
Canadian news also had a feature on the children going to school in the heat of the summer (lack of A/C) so they could catch up on missed classes and how they are trying to improve the school buildings and also making sure that the children have the books and supplies they need as well as ensuring their safety. Unfortunately many children have not returned to school.
They have also focused reports on the will of the Iraqi people to overcome the difficulties they encounter and how they try to make the best of the conditions they are facing daily and those are positive stories.
Many times they have shown positive stories of the American troops helping the people and being kind to the children and how they learn to relate.
They show some of the infrastructure work that the workers try to complete but said it was very difficult with all the insurgency and the lack of any proper security as well as no trained officials to keep the equipment functional and the danger involved.
CBC has a link to a Progress and Peril reconstruction report on Iraq online and they also have a story on the body count in Iraq and the good news bad news aspect of keeping track of the dead.
posted on August 1, 2005 10:05:15 PM new
I'm logging off for the night....but kiara your thought process is even more twisted than I ever imagined it could be.
IF you think returning injured soldiers are 'good news from Iraq'....then there's something VERY wrong with your reasoning abilities. And as I said...your CBC article focuses on DEATH counts.....not good news imo.
Maybe you don't have any concept of what 'GOOD' actually means. It means positive things being accomplished in Iraq.
Maybe that's really the whole problem with your posts here....you don't understand the difference between good and evil.
sad, very sad.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
[ edited by Linda_K on Aug 1, 2005 10:09 PM ]
maybe you and helen ARE related.
