For some time now, it's been clear to just about anyone with any knowledge at all about Iraq that the US could not "succeed" there militarily and that some type of political solution would have to be found. I'm afraid it's far too late to achieve any such thing or at least achieve it while the US remains in occupation. Read the story below and notice that, while "terrorists" may be responsible for destroying part of Iraq's electrical grid, Iraq's political infrastructure is collapsing in response.
The central government is failing. Perhaps that's what bush wanted all along. It seems like his precious Oil Law is never going to get signed by the Iraqi Parliament. He may have to try to gain leverage with weaker provincial governments.
source:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070804/iraq/Iraqi Power Grid Nearing Collapse
Iraq's power grid is on the brink of collapse because of insurgent sabotage, rising demand, fuel shortages and provinces that are unplugging local power stations from the national grid, officials said Saturday. <skip>
Power supplies in Baghdad have been sporadic all summer and now are down to just a few hours a day, if that. The water supply in the capital has also been severely curtailed by power blackouts and cuts that have affected pumping and filtration stations. <skip>
"We no longer need television documentaries about the Stone Age. We are actually living in it. We are in constant danger because of the filthy water and rotten food we are having," said Hazim Obeid, who sells clothing at a stall in the Karbala market. <skip>
The power problems are only adding to the misery of Iraqis, already suffering from the effects of more than four years of war and sectarian violence. Outages make life almost unbearable in the summer months, when average daily temperatures reach between 110 and 120 degrees.
One of the biggest problems facing the national grid is the move by provinces to disconnect their power plants from the system, reducing the overall amount of electricity being generated for the entire country. Provinces say they have no choice because they are not getting as much electricity in return for what they produce, mainly because the capital requires so much power.
"Many southern provinces such as Basra, Diwaniyah, Nassiriyah, Babil have disconnected their power plants from the national grid. Northern provinces, including Kurdistan, are doing the same," al-Shimari said. "We have absolutely no control over some areas in the south," he added.
"The national grid will collapse if the provinces do not abide by rules regarding their share of electricity. Everybody will lose and there will be no electricity winner," al-Shimari said.
He complained that the central government was unable to do anything about provincial power stations pulling out of the national system, or the fact some provinces were failing to take themselves off the supply grid once they had consumed their daily ration of electricity. <skip>
The electricity problems come as leaders are trying to deal with a political crisis that erupted when the country's largest bloc of Sunni political parties withdrew from the government.
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