Iraq hospital touted by Laura Bush delayed

[Kadie]

Iraq hospital touted by Laura Bush delayed
By RAWYA RAGEH, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 40 minutes ago



BAGHDAD, Iraq - Construction of a children's hospital championed by first lady Laura Bush has been put on hold after it fell behind schedule and went over budget, one of dozens of halted or delayed U.S. health projects, Iraqi health officials said Friday.

The high-tech, two-story children's hospital in Basra was intended to provide state-of-the-art care in Iraq's second-largest city. The first lady and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke highly of the project and lobbied Congress for the money.

But U.S. officials dropped contractor Bechtel Corp. from the project after it missed deadlines and ran up big cost overruns, Dr. Chasib Latif Ali, executive director of the Health Ministry, told The Associated Press. Bechtel Corp. blamed the problem on Iraq's security crisis.

Ali said the Basra hospital was just one example of health projects that the U.S. had promised but failed to deliver.

"The Americans have made a lot of promises to us, but not even 10 percent of them have materialized," Ali said.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060728/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_delayed_hospitals_1