Iraq- Administration Abandons Reconstruction

On Feb. 28, the Bush administration announced it would not be providing any significant additional funding for Iraqi reconstruction projects, with the exception of prisons. Yesterday, Daniel Speckhard, the head of the U.S.-led program to rebuild Iraq told the Iraqi government that it "can no longer count on U.S. funds and must rely on its own revenues and other foreign aid." As the United States turns its back on Iraq's reconstruction, it leaves behind a legacy of waste, mismanagement, and misplaced priorities. "There was insufficient systematic planning for human capital management in Iraq before and during the U.S.-directed stabilization and reconstruction operations," noted Iraq's Special Inspector General Stuart Bowen. "Of the 136 water projects first envisioned, only 49, or 36 percent, will be completed. And only 300 of the 425 electrical projects will be completed." Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies called the U.S. reconstruction effort "a dismal failure. It hasn't met any of its goals. It's left a legacy of half-built projects, built to U.S. standards, which Iraq doesn't have the capability to maintain."

From the Center for American Progress