Iraq is worse off than before the war began, GAO reports

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9041465.htm

WASHINGTON - In a few key areas - electricity, the judicial system and overall security - the Iraq that America handed back to its residents Monday is worse off than before the war began last year, according to calculations in a new General Accounting Office report released Tuesday.


The 105-page report by Congress' investigative arm offers a bleak assessment of Iraq after 14 months of U.S. military occupation. Among its findings:


-In 13 of Iraq's 18 provinces, electricity was available fewer hours per day on average last month than before the war. Nearly 20 million of Iraq's 26 million people live in those provinces.


-Only $13.7 billion of the $58 billion pledged and allocated worldwide to rebuild Iraq has been spent, with another $10 billion about to be spent. The biggest chunk of that money has been used to run Iraq's ministry operations.

more

[Mountainman]

1. "This is just the liberal media not telling the good side of the story"

Just joking.
Mr. Potato head says, "Roll that footage that shows all the good things going on in Iraq. What? You can't find it? Didn't anyone bother to make a video of the good things that are happening? Where's the footage of all the good things happening? Somebody must have something!"

[indepat]

3. Some good always comes from wars: just ask any contractor (mercenary

and his private employer receiving no-bid, unlimited cost overrun contracts to repair some of the damage inflicted by our sophisticated weaponry).

[saigon68]

5. $1,500.00 a Day Mercenaries living large

They pay no taxes, everything is FREE for them.

They will be getting ready to subjugate AMERIKA soon. All the Chimp needs is re-election.

[indepat]

18. Or suspension of elections for the duration of a thousand-year war?

[papau]

2. This will not make 6 oclock news...... sigh

:-)

[louis-t]

4. Listen to the excuses!

Steven Susens, a spokesman for the Program Management Office, which oversees contractors rebuilding Iraq, conceded that many areas of Iraq have fewer hours of electricity now than they did before the war. But he said the report, based on data that's now more than a month old, understates current electrical production. He said some areas may have reduced electricity availability because antiquated distribution systems had been taken out of service so they could be rebuilt.

Good one.


"It's a slow pace, but it's certainly growing as far as we're concerned," Susens said.


Danielle Pletka, the vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said other issues are more important than the provision of services such as electricity. She noted that Iraqis no longer live in fear of Saddam Hussein.


"It's far better to live in the dark than it is to run the risk that your mother, father, brother, sister, husband or wife would be taken away never to be seen again," Pletka said.

Trying hard to rationalize. Sickening.
I thought the military WAS still taking away people and locking them up and torturing them with little hope of ever getting out or speaking to an attorney or having a fair trial.
'Yes, thank you Emperor Bush for the meager bread you give us. Thank you for allowing us to exist on your planet. We all know it is you alone that determines whether we live or die. Praise be to you Bush.'

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. It's far better to live in the dark than it is...

This kind of bullshit reasoning could have been anticipiated by these freeper jerks.

"taken away never to be seen again" It occurs to me that if somebody was pissed at me and wanted to do me in, all they would have to do is make an anonomous call to homeland security and pooof, no more TCO for a good long time. So, in the end who is better off?

[catzies]

8. Yes, you caught that. It's the same false rationale that says

"Better we go over there and attack them, before they come over here and attack us." Buncha Cheneying idiots.

[MisterP]

24. and "We're fighting them there so we won't fight them here"

bleck!

[Heddi]

7. What bullshit....I almost screamed when I read

that Pletka woman's comments.

SO I guess we shouldn't wring our hands and gnash our teeth over the Holocaust and WWII anymore, right? I mean, Hitler DID make the trains run on time, and that's a GOOD thing

:eyes:

Conservatives make me want to VOMIT>

So it's okay that these people have no stable electricity. No access to sanitation. No clean water. No access to quality medical care or education. BUT AT LEAST SADAAM HUSSEIN IS GONE.

Sort of like the "yeah, we raped prisioners and killed them. But Sadaam raped MORE and killed MORE, so he's still worse than we are..."

[Corgigal]

9. Curse the GAO

What's all this with the truth? Don't they know it's an election year?

[struggle4progress]

10. Rebuilding

Rebuilding Iraq: Resource, Security, Governance, Essential Services, and Oversight Issues GAO-04-902R, June 28, 2004

Report Abstract
<snip>
According to the head of the now-dissolved CPA, all ministries were under Iraqi authority as of the transfer of power on June 28, 2004. However, the security situation hinders the ability of the ministries to provide needed services and maintain daily operations. To reform the rule of law, ongoing efforts have begun to establish a functioning independent judiciary, although courts are not at their pre-war capacity. However, efforts to rebuild Iraq's judicial system and restore the rule of law face multiple challenges. U.S. officials said that rehabilitating and reforming Iraq's judicial system will likely take years.
<snip>
... electrical service in the country as a whole has not shown a marked improvement over the immediate postwar levels of May 2003 and has worsened in some governorates.
<snip>
http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-04-902R

[daleo]

11. They are also worse off than before the war

In the count of blown up buildings and people.

[MissB]

12. Reminds me of this article from The Onion

http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4025

Coalition: Vast Majority of Iraqis Still Alive

BAGHDAD—As the Coalition Provisional Authority prepares to hand power over to an Iraqi-led interim government on June 30, CPA administrator L. Paul Bremer publicly touted the success of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"As the Coalition's rule draws to a close, the numbers show that we have an awful lot to be proud of," Bremer said Tuesday. "As anyone who's taken a minute and actually looked at the figures can tell you, the vast majority of Iraqis are still alive—as many as 99 percent. While 10,000 or so Iraqi civilians have been killed, pretty much everyone is not dead."

[Ivan Zero]

13. Electricity isn't important.

To run air conditioners. And refrigerators. In 110 degree + heat.

So sayeth Ms. Pletka in her climate-controlled D.C. office.

Ladies and gentlemen, compassionate conservatism at it's finest! Hey, you may be dying of heat stroke, but at least Saddam isn't behind it, you ungrateful Iraqi!

[DeepModem Mom]

14. kick

[keithyboy]

15. You can tell who really posts at DU by the kinds of posts that get the

most response and the kind of posts that get the least response. It's really amazing.

[0007]

17. Check this video out

Convoy of Death

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3267.htm

[0007]

16. But when you listen to Wolfowitz, Powell, junior, Cheney and

the other's that sing the same tune, America has made a big difference and we are doing good.

What utter bull shit!

[DubyaSux]

19. Move to Detroit...

Some of the best things we have going on in our country happens in the inner city neighborhoods of some of our biggest cities (just using you as one example of many, Detroit - so relax).

But I bet you won't find people falling all over themselves to move to those neighborhoods.

[hunter]

20. What kind of America will Bush hand back to us?

Yep, we're screwed.

Bush will be sitting in air-conditioned luxury watching baseball and pickling whatever's left of his broken brain, and the rest of America will be on fire.

[Robb]

21. GAO: Sky blue, water wet...

White House: We'll have to look into that. :eyes:

[jpak]

22. US is worse off than before the war began, jpak reports

860+ US dead

10,000+ US wounded

$191 billion dollars of our great great great grand-children's tax money squandered

Total loss of respect abroad

Terra threats on the increase

Good going Chimp.

[MisterP]

23. and women's rights is going down the tubes

many follow in Saudi Arabia's footsteps--Chalabi with the corruption and many clerics with rights

[struggle4progress]

25. kick

:kick: