So says
USA Today:
On paper, the Iraqi Army barracks was a gleaming example of the future Iraq. The plans called for a two-story, air-conditioned barracks housing 850 soldiers, a movie theater, classrooms, basketball courts, a shooting range, even an officer's club.
But when the $10 million project in southern Iraq is finished this month, it will fall far short of those ambitious plans. The theater, classrooms, officer's club, basketball courts and shooting range have all been scrapped. The barracks will be one story instead of two.
The reason for scaling back the barracks? The U.S. government is running out of money. The higher than expected cost of protecting workers against insurgent attacks -- about 25 cents of every reconstruction dollar now pays for security -- has sent the cost of projects skyward.
The result: Some projects have been eliminated and others cut back.
Wow. 25% is going to security? That's heavy. I don't have much to add, except... I wonder what the insurance costs are on all the equipment, lives and materials is. In fact, after all the tag-ons, I wonder how much is actually going to get built, and then, really, how long it will last. Iraq has become another
Project Mohole, but on a much larger level, with a lot more lives and generations on the line.