Do you remember back in August of 2003...just a few short months after "Mission Accomplished," when George Bush said of Iraq's infrastructure:
"In a lot of places, the infrastructure is as good as it was at prewar levels, which is satisfactory, but it's not the ultimate aim. The ultimate aim is for the infrastructure to be the best in the region," Bush said.
Apparently that ultimate aim is "no longer operative." Or in the words of a young Iraqi merchant, the Americans...
"...are the best in destroying things but they are the worst in rebuilding."
Given that the Bush administration has announced that it will not seek any additional funds for reconstruction in Iraq, it seems that the young man is right.
According to today's
Washington Post, the rebuilding stage in Iraq is "winding down." According to Brig. Gen. William McCoy:
"The U.S. never intended to completely rebuild Iraq. This was just supposed to be a jump-start."
When one considers that basic services such as electricty and water are well below pre-war levels, that supposed jump-start is laughable:
Iraqis nationwide receive on average less than 12 hours of power a day. For residents of Baghdad, it was six hours a day last month, according to a U.S. count, though many residents say that figure is high.
But fear not! We aren't just going to abandon the Iraqi people to their third-world lives. After all, we do plan to fix some things...in fact, we're taking money earmarked for things like electricity, roads and schools to:
...spend $437 million on border fortresses and guards.
...spending $107 million to build a secure communications network for security forces.
...building or renovating 10 medium- and maximum-security prisons.
...for courts, prosecutors and investigations. Millions are going to create safe houses for judges and for witness protection programs.
Hell, we're building a police state.
And while the administration continues to crow about all the progress (you know, that the media won't report) being made in Iraq,
...a poll conducted earlier last year that found less than 30 percent of Iraqis knew that any reconstruction efforts were underway.
A military spokesman assures that that number is now up to 40 percent. Of course, one can't help but wonder if those improving numbers are because of reality or propaganda, but either way, that still means that 60 percent of the people in Iraq have not seen any reconstruction efforts whatsoever.
Said another Iraqi:
"It is easy for the Americans to say, 'We are doing reconstruction in Iraq,' and we hear that. But to make us believe it, they should show us where this reconstruction is. Maybe they are doing this reconstruction for them in the Green Zone. But this is not for the Iraqis.
Believe me, they are not doing this unless they consider rebuilding of their military bases reconstruction."
US officials say that the construction really is happening...they just can't talk about it or the insurgents will blow it up. That is some kind of progress...in Bizarro World anyway. It seems that we can officially shorten The Pottery Barn Rule to, "We broke it."