Virtually all Iraq's utilities below pre invasion levels

[flavio]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 — Virtually every measure of the performance of Iraq's oil, electricity, water and sewerage sectors has fallen below preinvasion values even though $16 billion of American taxpayer money has already been disbursed in the Iraq reconstruction program, several government witnesses said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday.

Of seven measures of public services performance presented at the committee hearing by the inspector general's office, only one was above preinvasion values.

Those that had slumped below those values were electrical generation capacity, hours of power available in a day in Baghdad, oil and heating oil production and the numbers of Iraqis with drinkable water and sewage service.

Only the hours of power available to Iraqis outside Baghdad had increased over prewar values.

In addition, two of the witnesses said they believed that an earlier estimate by the World Bank that $56 billion would be needed for rebuilding over the next several years was too low.

At the same time, as Iraq's oil exports plummet and the country remains saddled with tens of billions of dollars of debt, it is unclear where that money will come from, said one of the witnesses, Joseph A. Christoff, director of international affairs and trade at the Government Accountability Office.

And those may not be the most serious problems facing Iraq's pipelines, storage tanks, power lines, electrical switching stations and other structures, said Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, an independent office.

In one sense, focusing on the plummeting performance numbers "misses the point," Mr. Bowen said. The real question, he said, is whether the Iraqi security forces will ever be able to protect the infrastructure from insurgent attack.

"What's happened is that an incessant, an insidious insurgency has repeatedly attacked the key infrastructure targets, reducing outputs," Mr. Bowen said. He added that some of the performance numbers had fluctuated above prewar values in the past, only to fall again under the pressure of insurgent attacks and other factors.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana, began by billing the session as a way of deciphering how much of America's original ambitions in the rebuilding program are likely to be fulfilled with the amount of money that Iraq, the United States Congress and international donors are still prepared to spend on the task.

This downsizing of expectations was striking given that $30 billion American taxpayer money has already been dedicated to the task, according to an analysis by Mr. Christoff of the accountability office. Of that money, $23 billion has already been obligated to specific rebuilding contracts, and $16 billion of that amount has been disbursed, Mr. Christoff said.

Mr. Bowen's office has pointed out that another $40 billion in Iraqi oil money and seized assets of Saddam Hussein's regime was also made available for reconstruction and other tasks at one time or another. Last week, Robert J. Stein Jr., one of four former United States government officials in Iraq who have been arrested in a bribery and kickback scheme involving that money, pleaded guilty to federal charges.

More..................................

With less electricity at home, maybe the Iraqis will spend more time outside throwing roses at troops

 

[catocom]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

Only the hours of power available to Iraqis outside Baghdad had increased over prewar values.

so it's not all over...
anyway..
I'd imagine it's pretty hard to rebuild when it's Still a war zone.

They are going to need more outside contractors, but they won't come in until it's
more secured, and that's gonna take even a bit more time.
The New Iraqi security forces are coming along, but people have to remember,
they had to start from scratch pretty much. With mostly people with No real combat experience.

Bagdad is a fairly big city, hence it's taking more time.
Of coarse I do hear that there's reports of corruption in the oil part....No real accounting.
They need to get that panned out to pay for this stuff themselves, but I don't
know enough "at this point" to know exactly where that responsibilty should fall.

 

[PT]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

Oh fuck it, must be Bush's fault too. Fucker's probably using the extra power to run his new mind-control computers...

 

[Gonz]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

No need to view post to laugh at this one. They had virtually no power outside Baghdad, pre-war when saddam wanted air conditioning. Even Baghdad suburbs went without. We're rebuilding an infrastructure that hasn't been touched sonce the fifties.

 

[Winky]

Iraqi’s are all not living in splendor
another clear example of why Bush is Evil!

I’d say it is clearly grounds for impeachment!!!

 

[flavio]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

No need to view post to laugh at this one. They had virtually no power outside Baghdad, pre-war when saddam wanted air conditioning. Even Baghdad suburbs went without. We're rebuilding an infrastructure that hasn't been touched sonce the fifties.

so it's not all over...

I knew I could count on you guys to put a positive spin on this. Both of you even used the same tactic.

So the idea is to take a sentence like this....

"Of seven measures of public services performance presented at the committee hearing by the inspector general's office, only one was above preinvasion values"

...then you just focus on the one good and ignore the 6 bad things....right?
Neat.

 

[Professur]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

Maybe if they'd stop blowing up infrastructure ......


Wait, didn't Saddam's troops blow up most of that stuff before the US even got there?

 

[chcr]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

Virtually every measure

Whenever I see the word "virtually" at the beginning of a "news" story my mind reads "hyped, overstated and sensationalized for your entertainment (buy shit from our sponsors)."

Edit: Almost forgot: Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Clinton's fault, let's call the whole thing off...

 

[catocom]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

I knew I could count on you guys to put a positive spin on this. Both of you even used the same tactic.

So the idea is to take a sentence like this....

"Of seven measures of public services performance presented at the committee hearing by the inspector general's office, only one was above preinvasion values"

...then you just focus on the one good and ignore the 6 bad things....right?
Neat.

so...you read none of the rest of my post after the first sentence, huh?

 

[Winky]

There are Baptist churches burning in Alabama

I saw GW lighting them up!

 

[flavio]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

so...you read none of the rest of my post after the first sentence, huh?

Sorry here you go....

They are going to need more outside contractors, but they won't come in until it's
more secured, and that's gonna take even a bit more time.

"The estimated tens of thousand of contractors in Iraq -- who according to the Brookings Institute amount to more than 10 percent of U.S. personnel there"

The New Iraqi security forces are coming along, but people have to remember,
they had to start from scratch pretty much. With mostly people with No real combat experience.

Yes, it can take a very long time to train people when you remember it's an unusual situation in that they're starting from scratch with no real combat experience.

For all we know it could even take as much as 9 weeks.

Realize that not only are 6 out of 7 indicators worse than pre-invasion....but also that the rebuilding money is almost all used up. Might have helped things a little if they hadn't just "lost" 9 billion dollars.

 

[catocom]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

Sorry here you go....

"The estimated tens of thousand of contractors in Iraq -- who according to the Brookings Institute amount to more than 10 percent of U.S. personnel there"

Yes, it can take a very long time to train people when you remember it's an unusual situation in that they're starting from scratch with no real combat experience.

For all we know it could even take as much as 9 weeks.

Realize that not only are 6 out of 7 indicators worse than pre-invasion....but also that the rebuilding money is almost all used up. Might have helped things a little if they hadn't just "lost" 9 billion dollars.

What is the particular point you are making in that WP link?

As far as training, that's just basic, then they go in the field with other, more
experienced persons. How long does it take to make Sargent?

 

[Professur]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

Hey, can I blame the ice storm damage on my house on Bush too?

 

[catocom]

Not big enough damage.

 

[flavio]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

What is the particular point you are making in that WP link?

You said something about contractors won't come until it's more secured.

As far as training, that's just basic, then they go in the field with other, more
experienced persons. How long does it take to make Sargent?

3 months? Maybe it's shorter though, I don't know if their required to meet the same standards as the US Army.

Hey, can I blame the ice storm damage on my house on Bush too?

Did he order the ice storm to invade and occupy your house to protect America and liberate your family and left you without heat or running water...or some shit like that?

 

[Professur]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

Did he order the ice storm to invade and occupy your house to protect America and liberate your family and left you without heat or running water...or some shit like that?

Well, it seems he's to blame for a hurricane. And Flav, most of the damage was not done by americans, but my Saddam's own people. The american forces tried to minimize damage for one simple reason. They knew they'd be stuck fixing it afterwards. Saddams troops were the ones blowing up oil pipelines and generating plants.

 

[Inkara1]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

You can't blame it on Bush because you're not black and, as we all know, Bush hates black people... which I guess means Colin and Condi aren't black.

 

[HomeLAN]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

Nah, they're "passing". Also known as "House negros". Harry Belafonte said it, so it must be true.

 

[Inkara1]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

The token black guy?

Just wondering, how many blacks were in the cabinet of "the first black president"?

 

[catocom]

Re: Virtually all Iraq's utilities below preinvasion levels

You said something about contractors won't come until it's more secured.

3 months? Maybe it's shorter though, I don't know if their required to meet the same standards as the US Army.

oh, oh yeah, I kinda mis-spoke. I meant the contractors can't/won't still go into
certain areas.

I'm pretty sure those army standards aren't nearly the same.
Besides, am I reading it right, that was back in 1939?