Bridges and Water and Power, Oh No!

Driving through Iraq you feel the neglect here. In Basra the city is rivers of sewage, destroyed buildings and bridges from war after war after war.

Every day I pass by the same buildings destroyed years ago during the U.S. led invasion in my neighborhood in Baghdad. Every day they look exactly the same, a pile of rubble. The electricity problem seems to be getting worse; Iraqis have an average of about four hours of electricity a day. While there is talk of reconstruction, a bridge here, flowers planted there the people don't feel a change.

A report from the Government Accountability Office explains a few things. By the end of this year Iraqi will have made $80 billion in oil profits and U.S. tax payers have paid out $48 billion in money for reconstruction. Of Iraq's total expenditures only one percent has been spent "to maintain roads, bridges, vehicles, buildings, water and electricity installations, and weapons for security forces."

Comments

[R J Adams]

Not the impression we're receiving from the mainstream media, Leila.

[Ron Paul]

Welcome back Sweetheart!

[Eve]

Which raises the question--what are the Iraqis doing with this money, do they think they are saving the surplus for a rainy day?

[batguano101]

Good report: focus on this.

The sooner the Iraqi people begin to direct their questions about electricity and water where it belongs, the Iraq government, the sooner the Iraq government will begin to function like a government.

It is time for focus on US troops and Dept of State Security to stop, and the real issues directed at the people taking the oil money without restoring basic services.

Redirect all the negative focus on the US forces to the the Iraq government and the money flowing into their hands without restoring infrastructure and you will do more good than anything else you can report about.

[batguano101]

Good report: focus on this.

The sooner the Iraqi people begin to direct their questions about electricity and water where it belongs, the Iraq government, the sooner the Iraq government will begin to function like a government.

It is time for focus on US troops and Dept of State Security to stop, and the real issues directed at the people taking the oil money without restoring basic services.

Redirect all the negative focus on the US forces to the the Iraq government and the money flowing into their hands without restoring infrastructure and you will do more good than anything else you can report about.

[md]

If you have the information that expenditures are less than %1, then surely you have info where the other %99 went?

[nancy]

Ah yes! Blame the Iraqi people, the Iraqi government. Let me see, the USA spends billions blowing up things they should not blow up-hospitals,sewage plants,water plants , villages, women and children etc..The USA gives Halliburton millions/billions in contracts-they dont fix anything just pocket the money and Iraqis should pay to fix everything while the USA still occupies-so soldiers and radical extremists can then blow it all up again....good plan

[batguano101]

Nancy- try breathing into a paper bag, which will prevent your thumbs from cramping from hyperventilation.

Yes, the Iraqi government pocketing the oil money flowing into their hands without restoring basic services is the focus.

No, US military are not the bad guys. Try to keep in mind the suicide bombers are not US military.

The paper bag helps, as does reason.

[Susan]

The US military has plenty of bad guys... I thought the Abu Ghraib scandal settled that.

And it is the US military, under orders of bush, who bombed and invaded the country - so, until the last US military person leaves, we are the ones responsible for every thing that happens. That comes from being an occupying power - which the Iraqi people never asked us to be in the first place.

batguano - you are the one who needs to learn to reason, and stop insulting people until then, okay?