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August 29th,
2010 - US Wasted Billions in Rebuilding Iraq |
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US Wasted Billions in Rebuilding
Iraq By Kim Gamel Associated Press August 29, 2010 Khan Bani Saad, Iraq - A $40
million prison sits in the desert north of Baghdad, empty. A $165 million
children's hospital goes unused in the south. A $100 million waste water
treatment system in Fallujah has cost three times more than projected, yet
sewage still runs through the streets. As the U.S. draws down in
Iraq, it is leaving behind hundreds of abandoned or incomplete projects. More
than $5 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds has been wasted on these projects -
more than 10 percent of the $53.7 billion the US has spent on reconstruction
in Iraq, according to audits from a U.S. watchdog agency. That amount is likely an
underestimate, based on an analysis of more than 300 reports by auditors with
the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. And it does not take
into account security costs, which have run almost 17 percent for some
projects. There are success stories.
Hundreds of police stations, border forts and government buildings have been
built, Iraqi security forces have improved after years of training, and a
deepwater port at the southern oil hub of Umm Qasr has been restored. But even completed projects
for the most part fell far short of original goals, according to an
Associated Press review of hundreds of audits and investigations and visits
to several sites. And the verdict is still out on whether the program reached
its goal of generating Iraqi good will toward the United States instead of
the insurgents. Col. Jon Christensen, who
took over as head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq this summer,
said it has completed more than 4,800 projects and is rushing to finish 233 more.
Some 595 projects have been terminated, mostly for security reasons. Christensen acknowledged
that mistakes have been made. But he said steps have been taken to fix them,
and the success of the program will depend ultimately on the Iraqis - who
have complained that they were not consulted on projects to start with. "There's only so much
we could do," Christensen said. "A lot of it comes down to them
taking ownership of it." The reconstruction program
in Iraq has been troubled since its birth shortly after the U.S.-led invasion
in 2003. The U.S. was forced to scale back many projects even as they spiked
in cost, sometimes to more than double or triple initial projections. As part of the so-called
surge strategy, the military in 2007 shifted its focus to protecting Iraqis
and winning their trust. American soldiers found themselves hiring
contractors to paint schools, refurbish pools and oversee neighborhood water
distribution centers. The $3.6 billion Commander's Emergency Response Program
provided military units with ready cash for projects, and paid for Sunni
fighters who agreed to turn against al-Qaida in Iraq for a monthly salary. But sometimes civilian and
military reconstruction efforts were poorly coordinated and overlapped. Iraqis can see one of the
most egregious examples of waste as they drive north from Baghdad to Khan
Bani Saad. A prison rises from the desert, complete with more than two dozen
guardtowers and surrounded by high concrete walls. But the only signs of life
during a recent visit were a guard shack on the entry road and two farmers
tending a nearby field. In March 2004, the Corps of
Engineers awarded a $40 million contract to global construction and
engineering firm Parsons Corp. to design and build a prison for 3,600
inmates, along with educational and vocational facilities. Work was set to
finish in November 2005. But violence was escalating
in the area, home to a volatile mix of Sunni and Shiite extremists. The
project started six months late and continued to fall behind schedule,
according to a report by the inspector general. The U.S. government pulled
the plug on Parsons in June 2006, citing "continued schedule slips and
... massive cost overruns," but later awarded three more contracts to
other companies. Pasadena, Calif.-based Parsons said it did its best under
difficult and violent circumstances. Citing security concerns,
the U.S. finally abandoned the project in June 2007 and handed over the
unfinished facility to Iraq's Justice Ministry. The ministry refused to
"complete, occupy or provide security" for it, according to the
report. More than $1.2 million in unused construction material also was
abandoned due to fears of violence. The inspector general
recommended another use be found for the partially finished buildings inside
the dusty compound. But three years later, piles of bricks and barbed wire
lie around, and tumbleweed is growing in the caked sand. "It will never hold a
single Iraqi prisoner," said inspector general Stuart Bowen, who has
overseen the reconstruction effort since it started. "$40 million wasted
in the desert." Another problem was
coordination with the Iraqis, who have been left with health facilities that
would cost at least as much as the Americans spent to complete. One clinic
was handed over to local authorities without a staircase, said Shaymaa
Mohammed Amin, the head of the Diyala provincial reconstruction and
development committee. "We were almost forced
to take them," she said during an interview at the heavily fortified
local government building in the provincial capital of Baqouba.
"Generally speaking, they were below our expectations. Huge funds were
wasted and they would not have been wasted if plans had been clear from the
beginning." As an example, she cited a
date honey factory that was started despite a more pressing need for schools
and vital infrastructure. She said some schools were left without paint or
chalkboards, and needed renovations. "We ended up paying
twice," she said. In some cases, Iraqi
ministries have refused to take on the responsibility for U.S.-funded
programs, forcing the Americans to leave abandoned buildings littering the
landscape. "Initially when we came
in ... we didn't collaborate as much as we should have with the correct
people and figure out what their needs were," Christensen said. He
stressed that Iraqis are now closely involved in all projects. The U.S. military pinned
great hopes on a $5.7 million convention center inside the tightly secured
Baghdad International Airport compound, as part of a commercial hub aimed at
attracting foreign investors. A few events were held at the sprawling
complex, including a three-day energy conference that drew oil executives
from as far away as Russia and Japan in 2008, which the U.S. military claimed
generated $1 million in revenues. But the contracts awarded
for the halls did not include requirements to connect them to the main power
supply. The convention center, still requiring significant work, was
transferred to the Iraqi government "as is" on Jan. 20, according
to an audit by the inspector general's office. The buildings have since
fallen into disrepair, and dozens of boxes of fluorescent lightbulbs and
other equipment disappeared from the site. Light poles outside have toppled
over and the glass facade is missing from large sections of the abandoned
buildings. Waste also came from trying
to run projects while literally under fire. The Americans committed to
rebuilding the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah after it was
destroyed in major offensives in 2004. The U.S. awarded an initial contract
for a new waste water treatment system to FluorAMEC of Greenville, S.C. -
just three months after four American private security contractors were
savagely attacked. The charred and mutilated remains of two of them were
strung from a bridge in the city. An audit concluded that it
was unrealistic for the U.S. "to believe FluorAMEC could even begin
construction, let alone complete the project, while fierce fighting occurred
daily." The report also pointed out repeated redesigns of the project,
and financial and contracting problems. The Fallujah waste water
treatment system is nearly complete - four years past the deadline, at a cost
of more than three times the original $32.5 million estimate. It has been
scaled back to serve just a third of the population, and Iraqi officials said
it still lacks connections to houses and a pipe to join neighborhood tanks up
with the treatment plant. Desperate residents,
meanwhile, have begun dumping their sewage in the tanks, causing foul odors
and running the risk of seepage, according to the head of Fallujah's
municipal council, Sheik Hameed Ahmed Hashim. "It isn't appropriate
for the Americans to give the city these services without completing these
minor details," Hashim said. "We were able to wipe out part of the
memories of the Fallujah battles through this and other projects. ... If they
leave the project as it is, I think their reputation will be damaged." By contrast, the Basra
children's hospital - one of the largest projects undertaken by the U.S. in
Iraq - looks like a shining success story, with gardeners tending manicured
lawns in preparation for its opening. But that opening has been repeatedly
delayed, most recently for a lack of electricity. The construction of a
"state of the art" pediatric specialist hospital with a cancer unit
was projected to be completed by December 2005 for about $50 million. By last
year, the cost had soared above $165 million, including more than $100
million in U.S. funds, and the equipment was dated, according to an auditors'
report. Investigators blamed the
delays on unrealistic timeframes, poor soil conditions, multiple partners and
funding sources and security problems at the site, including the murder of 24
workers. Bechtel, the project contractor, was removed because of monthslong
delays blamed on poor sub-contractor performance and limited oversight, the
special inspector general's office said. A Bechtel spokeswoman, Michelle
Allen, said the company had recommended in 2006 that work on the hospital be
put on hold because of the "intolerable security situation." In an acknowledgment that
they weren't getting exactly what they hoped for, Iraqi officials insisted
the label "state of the art" be removed from a memorandum of
understanding giving them the facility. It was described as a "modern
pediatric hospital." The hospital's director,
Kadhim Fahad, said construction has been completed and the electricity issue
resolved. "The opening will take place soon, God willing," he said. Residents are pleased with
the outcome. One, Ghassan Kadhim, said: "It is the duty of the Americans
to do such projects because they were the ones who inflicted harm on
people." Associated Press Writer
Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report. Copyright © 2010 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gznXAHVHaBXmQmXUFDgDU8AynUBQD9HTIQ4O2 |