Knight Ridder ran a story today about the growing frustration among Baghdad residents...
Here's the full story:
Knight Ridder story
a blurb:
Over 18 months, American officials spent almost $2 billion to revive the capital ravaged by war and neglect, according to Army Gen. William G. Webster, who heads the 30,000 U.S. and foreign troops and 15,000 Iraqi soldiers known collectively as Task Force Baghdad. But the money goes for long-term projects that yield few visible results and for security to protect the construction sites from sabotage.
It seems that many in the media have ceded the reconstruction issue to the White House. The Right complains mightily that in the rush to cover the insurgency, the good news about all the reconstruction momentum is being neglected. But it seems that even here, things don't reflect what we're being told.
With about $2 billion already invested, Baghdad should be sparkling, said its mayor, Alaa Mahmoud al Timimi. He hasn't been consulted on American projects, besides signatures for completed developments, and has threatened to resign if he doesn't get a larger budget to solve his city's problems. The $85 million he was allocated can't keep up with the city of 6.5 million, he said.
"Baghdad is an ignored city," said Timimi, who's a civil engineer. "The people, they blame me. I need money to rebuild the capacity of water (supply) and ... (for) sewage, garbage collection, power."
Now, I fully acknowledge that our troops are doing everything they can given the situation they've been thrust into. But just as the administration underestimated what it would take to carry out an effective invasion, we're seeing the consequences of their quixotic ideas for rebuilding the country...
Remember what Wolfowitz told us in 2003:
"The oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years. Now, there are a lot of claims on that money, but... We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon."
I'm of the thinking that this optimistic rationale was one of the reasons the American people threw their support to W.
It's time the media examined miscalculations about the reconstruction with added fervor... It's creating a resource drain -- at the expense of health care, education, etc. here -- that we didn't bargain for...