-Caveat Lector- The Christian Science Monitor
World > Terrorism & Security posted September 9, 2005 at 12:00 p.m. Lack of funds slows Iraqi reconstruction Key projects 'grinding to a halt' as funds diverted to increased security needs. By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com Key reconstruction projects in Iraq are "grinding to a halt" because of lack of funds. The Guardian reports that this is the word from US officials in Iraq. On Wednesday, they told the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations of Appropriations that plans to "overhaul" the country's infrastructure have been "downsized, postponed or abandoned" because the $24 billion that Congress authorized for the task has turned out to be not nearly enbough. Water and sanitation have been particularly badly hit. According to a report published this week by Government Accountability Office, the investigative branch of Congress, $2.6bn has been spent on water projects, half the original budget, after the rest was diverted to security and other uses. The report said 'attacks, threats and intimidation against project contractors and subcontractors' were to blame. A quarter of the $200m-worth of completed US-funded water projects handed over to the Iraqi authorities no longer worked properly because of 'looting, unreliable electricity or inadequate Iraqi staff and supplies,' the report found. Reuters reports that Stuart Bowen, the US special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction, told the House Appropriations Committee that he was hesitant to ask for more money at a time when it was needed so badly for Hurricane Katrina relief. Mr. Bowen said non-US sources might be asked to fill the funding gap. "It is an issue that we need to address at the right time," Bowen told Reuters after a hearing of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. "In order to complete the plan we initially developed, we'll need more money. Whether that money can come from donor sources, World Bank loans or a supplemental is yet to be decided," said the former White House lawyer, who has traveled to Iraq nine times during the past 18 months. He also said that he is currenting conducting 58 criminal investigations into the misuse of funds in Iraq, although only a "handful of companies" have been charged so far. The Los Angeles Times [reg. required] reports that members of Congress from both parties are "starting to lose patience," and that while Democrats have always been critical of the Bush administration efforts in Iraq, more Republicans are starting to question the effort. "It seems sort of almost incomprehensible to me that we haven't been able to do better on" restoring power to Iraq, said Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.), who recently visited areas damaged by Katrina. "Coming back up through Mississippi and Louisiana after being down on some relief effort, you know, when power shuts down, everything shuts down." Three government reports released in July also said that the US has been able to achive only "limited progress" in key sectors despite the billions of dollars spend in Iraq. The reports also blamed extra money spent on security as the main reason for the lack of progress. In mid-August Reuters reported that the International Monetary Fund released its first economic review of Iraq in 25 years, and said that "insurgent violence had dampened the country's growth prospects and tied up funds meant for reconstruction." 'The lack of a secure environment has [also] impeded the effectiveness of reconstruction spending, with contractors and donors reporting security and insurance outlays in the range of 30-50 percent of total costs,' it said. The Daily Telegraph reports that the Iraqi government may try to expel "thousands of heavily armed private security contractors." There are over 25,000 private security guard in Iraq. Most of them are British, American and South African ex-servicemen lured by wages of up to $1000 a day, and they are extremely "unpopular" with local Iraqis. Adorned in sunglasses and bullet-proof vests, they travel in white four-wheel-drive vehicles with gun barrels protruding from the windows. Many refuse to obey road signs and consider traffic jams a security risk so barge through the lines of vehicles which are often forced to pull over rapidly on to pavements. Their lack of official status has long been a concern and those operating on US department of defence contracts are free from risk of legal penalty under the Iraqi judicial system if they killed anyone in a firefight. But under the new rules confirmed yesterday [Thursday] all such firms will be brought under the authority of the Baghdad government. Meanwhile, USA Today reported Wednesday that August saw one of the highest levels in the past year of attacks on contractors working on US-funded projects. Insurgents killed seven contractors, and injured 11. Sixteen others were suspected or confirmed kidnapped. Almost all of those killed were Iraqis, who "rarely have security," unlike American contractors who travel with the kind of security personel mentioned above. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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