Reconstruction Corruption

The Reconstruction effort in Iraq is a nasty nightmare. According to the New York Times, a recent audit of American financial practices in Iraq has detailed widespread squandering of funds, of American officials certifying work as having been completed and paying off the project when clearly it had not been, of millions of dollars in cash found stuffed in such places as bathroom safes and unlocked footlockers, nonexistent paperwork, and rampant rebuilding projects that had been abandoned.

This is a sore point with me, because when the Pentagon—egged on by Vice President Dick Cheney, the former CEO—gave no-bid contracts to Halliburton and shut out even such countries as Great Britain, who were helping us fight this miserable war—I cried foul.

My Republican husband argued with me, saying that the only reason Halliburton had gotten the multi-billion dollar contracts was because they were experienced in such matters and would be able to get the job done.

Well, the job has most certainly NOT been done.

Part of the reason for this is that, since the Administration failed to secure such things as massive ammunition dumps during the days of widespread looting that followed the initial invasion, then a well-armed insurgency has developed into a security migraine.

But as much as this Administration would like to blame the insurgency for EVERYTHING (an insurgency they not only failed to predict but claimed, repeatedly, was either a “gang of thugs,” “mostly foreigners,” or “in its final throes”), there are more complicated reasons, such as the fact that, in some crucial cases, American engineers just screwed up and then didn’t have the money allocated to fix their own mistakes.

Consequently, 60% of projects designed to improve Iraq’s water supply, sewer systems and drinking water will remain unfinished.

More than 125 of 425 electricity projects will be left unfinished. And oil production has dropped to PRE-WAR levels.

“We were told before the war, “ says Senator Biden, “that oil would pay for the reconstruction. Two and one-half years after Saddam’s statue fell, Iraq is still not exporting what it did before the war—700,000 barrels per day below target. Roughly $15 billion in lost revenue per year.”

Clearly, as the Center for American Progress points out, there needs to be “greater oversight and transparency surrounding reconstruction projects.”

Of course, oversight is not something for which this Administration is known.

Senator Biden also suggests, “I would redirect our spending to Iraqi contractors and away from multinationals. Iraqis don’t have to add a line item worth 40% of the value of the contract for security. I’m glad to save American taxpayers money.”

Military commanders in the field know that, as Senator Biden says, “We can’t defeat the insurgency unless we have a reconstruction program that makes a difference to ordinary Iraqis.”

The reason reconstruction is as important as military strategy is that, as long as most of the country has raw sewage running in the streets, lights on for only half of every day, unsafe water, and 40% unemployment…then hoards of angry young men are going to be only too eager to join the insurgency and kill Americans.

So far, untold millions—if not billions—of our taxpaying dollars have been squandered in fraud, mismanagement, ineptitude, and corruption in Iraq. The president is not going to ask for any more money for Iraqi reconstruction in this budget.

I’m not saying we can afford to spend any more. What I am saying is that until and unless we let other countries and other contractors bid on and participate in the rebuilding of Iraq, this war is lost, period.

The last aspect I’ll be discussing—which follows—is what I call “The War at Home.” Controversies and disagreements continue to swirl here at home about how this war is being fought, and I have some thoughts on that.