Another Mission Not Accomplished

On the eve of the 5th anniversary of Mission Accomplished Day, here's a report of another major failure:

Iraq's Nassriya Water Treatment Plant, the country's largest reconstruction project, is a failure so far because it isn't delivering sufficient water to enough people, a new audit says.

Inspectors in December and again in February found the U.S.-funded plant 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Baghdad was operating at only 20 percent capacity, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said in a report released today.

``Potable water is only reaching a fraction of the Iraqi people for which it was designed and intended,'' Inspector General Stuart Bowen said. Two of the intended five cities, Ad Diwayah and Suq Al Shoyokh, weren't receiving water, he wrote.

The Iraqi government that has been "in charge" since the war "ended" on May 1, 2003 hasn't been able to manage the project because of a lack of reliable electricity, a failing water distribution system, and general inability to rise to the day-to-day demands of maintaining a complex system. Which is perfectly understandable, considering they're in the middle of a civil war.

Heckuva job, Georgie.

Update: BarbinMD recalls this gem from Cheney on 5/1/2003 (Mission Accomplished Day):

Every day, life in Iraq is improving as coalition troops secure unsafe areas, bring food and medical care to the needy and make sure Iraq's drinking water is clean and dependable.