Wednesday, August 27, 2003

It's a sad, sad situation So much of what we read and hear about the situation in Iraq is speculation and spin doctoring. Accurate, firsthand infromation seems hard to come by. Here is a report in the UK Guardian from Rory McCarthy who was there in June and just returned to Iraq for another visit. His report is not optimistic. In fact, the headline for his report is "Even the optimists are losing heart..." He recounts improvements but his dominant view reflects "a wave of fury and despair" that he sees among Iraqis. This is reflected in the fact that aid workers are leaving, especially in the aftermath of the UN attack. Even military patrols have been curtailed in order to reduce casualties. He reports: "Now US patrols in many of the most troubled areas of Baghdad appear to have been markedly reduced."   Read his full account. It is difficult to really believe either the optimistic reports from American officials or in the ulimate success of the American effort. The final story is not written of course. But the attack on Iraq was based on flimsy premises, willfulness and flawed information. It is hard to envision that it will all end well, especially any time soon.   3:14:38 PM    comment []

Impossible to exaggerate (almost) Those are the words from Paul Bremer reported in the Washington Post about the cost of rebuilding Iraq. And guess who is going to have to pay? American taxpayers and foreign governments. We are going to ask those same foreign governments that did not support the war in the first place to pay billions. So that leaves the American taxpayer. This comes at a time when some are forecasting that we need $50 billion to $100 billion (see Businessweek News and Commentary) to improve our own power grid. Our own state and local governments are laying off employees for lack of revenue.  The Post article also points out that the Congressional Budget Office just forecast that the Federal budget deficit next year will be $480 billion, a new record. so how will all this play out in Congress? Again to quote the Post: "Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds foreign aid, said the administration appears to be "essentially out of funds" for reconstruction and has appeared hesitant to give a swift accounting of what else is needed. "They erode their support when they don't have their act together or don't level with us," he said in a telephone interview." Read the entire article. Two more US soldiers were killed today (Reuters report). More soldiers have died during the "post war" reconstruction period than died during actual combat operations. The guerrilla attacks show no signs of abating. Project the death rate over years, not months. Is the cost in lives and treasury worth it? We will have to answer this question. 10:10:33 AM    comment []