Wednesday, September 15, 2004

That is a Lot of Flowers and Candy

Why it could almost payoff Chalabi...

From the Washington Post:

The Bush administration asked Congress on Tuesday for permission to transfer nearly $3.5 billion from Iraqi water, sewer and electricity projects to pressing security, economic and electoral programs, acknowledging that increasing violence has forced a sharp shift in its rebuilding effort.

Including previous reallocations, the administration hopes to redirect more than 20 percent of $18.4 billion in reconstruction funds to cope with an escalating insurgency and the glacial pace of rebuilding. With two weeks left in the fiscal year, and 11 months after Congress approved the money, only $1.1 billion of it has been spent, because of attacks, contracting problems and other unforeseen issues, according to figures released by the State Department...

The shift of funds "is a de facto recognition that [the occupation authority's] ambitious plans to restructure Iraq's entire economy have failed," said Anthony H. Cordesman, a security analyst at the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies, "and that . . . efforts to plan the long-term structure of Iraq's economic development have foundered in the face of insurgent attacks, theft and looting, [and] bad planning."


So I ask again, who is responsible for this?

$3.5 Billion, how many officers and security personnel could that put on American Streets?

$3.5 Billion, how many hungry Americans could that feed?

$3.5 Billion, how many American ports could that protect?

$3.5 Billion, how many chemical or nuclear plants could that secure?

Of course, this amount is less than 2% of the amount we have spent for the Iraqi invasion.

Have you even gotten a lousy t-shirt?

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