Blackout: Militants Seize Control Of Iraq Power Grid

The New York Times:

Armed groups increasingly control the antiquated switching stations that channel electricity around Iraq, the electricity minister said Wednesday.

That is dividing the national grid into fiefs that, he said, often refuse to share electricity generated locally with Baghdad and other power-starved areas

Read the whole story: The New York Times

Comments

[speakingtruth2power]

08:07 PM on 08/23/2007

The Iraqis will not share and have been polarized beyond help. It is time we let the Iranians help, just like the French let US help the Vietnamese.

[jdfast]

06:27 PM on 08/23/2007

Yup, yup, things are getting so much better for the people of Iraq now that we are there. There have been more civilians killed there by all of the factions than died during Sadam's rule and we thought that he was a monster. Good going W! Your cronies made a lot of money and you wanted to make a country that has never been a democracy a democracy and you were a history major. Did you sleep through ancient history and part of modern history? Must have.

[Jason357]

05:37 PM on 08/23/2007

I honestly hope the US is losing this war on purpose, because the country's in real trouble if the US can't do better than that. War 101 is to keep public services going so the population doesn't turn against the occupation. Now, large chunks of the grid are under control of anti-US forces. Uh, that's just a little problem.

[Jason357]

05:39 PM on 08/23/2007

Antiquated?? All of the bragging about reconstruction and billions missing and they haven't even upgraded the electric grid? Have they ever started? Where the f*** is all of that money?

[getoffmedz]

02:03 PM on 08/23/2007

Things are going very well in Iraq, we are making gains on the ground. The Surge is working.

N O T ! !

[Giordano Bruno]

04:06 PM on 08/23/2007

Exactly gettomedz. Disrupting the power grid. How better to do it than mess with power itself.
Where is Brownie when we need him. He did a heckuvajob on Katrina, remember?

I have to ask myself what makes it possible for this incompetent administration to survive all the blunders it has overseen and orchestrated. And I keep coming up with the same answer: a disinterested, whimpy Congress, run by Democrats who are complicitous in all of it.

GB

[madprophet]

12:19 PM on 08/23/2007

At what point do you Americans march on Washington and depose this regime? I assume that you have no "legal" means if your Congress refuses to impeach. Is that correct?

The rest of the world (RoW) looks on in disbelief and horror. We are essentially helpless, unless the RoW initiates a "regime change" in your country, using the same methods the U.S. did with Iraq. That is of course, madness, since it would result in nuclear war.

Only the U.S. populace can stop this insanity.

[LeftVetPatriot]

12:16 PM on 08/23/2007

Welcome to the Ammobob show.
Take a breath, traitorboy!
Go outside.
Get a burger or somp'm.

Oh... You post from work?
Good job!

[StillAmused]

12:13 PM on 08/23/2007

Has B•B Bob left the building? Am I too late? Heard rumors he was personally leading the counterinsurgency on this thread, and I didn't want to miss the epic battle.

Those playground beatings really did a number on you after puberty, huh, B•B?

Go load some light wadcutters. It'll focus you for your next performance.

Narcissistic imbecile.

[fact finder]

11:52 AM on 08/23/2007

No electricity in Iraq!!!. This can not be true, after all the Commander in cheap, cheap, said things were going well.

[JScott]

10:42 AM on 08/23/2007

So.... is anyone risky enough to market solar cells, small wind turbines, inverters and storage batteries there? So folks could put em on top of bldgs and get electricity?

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

10:40 AM on 08/23/2007

Rovian spin:

Iraqis are indeed taking control of their own infrastructure. That is just one aspect of the PROGRESS that General Petraeus is making, and that the President will share with the American people on 9/11. On 9/11. On 9/11.

[TexasDem0]

10:52 AM on 08/23/2007

ReasonIsMyReligion, Rovian spin (continued) … and this PROVES the surge is working. The increase in the number, frequency and devastation of attacks, further disruption of the infrastructure, the increase of hardship of the Iraqi people; all show the progress achieved by this administration’s brilliant surge.

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

10:37 AM on 08/23/2007

well I guess the surge is working.

[neoconscums]

10:33 AM on 08/23/2007

As one Iraqi prisoner said after he was released from Abu Ghraib. "We want electricity in the home, not in the ass."

[viflyer]

10:22 AM on 08/23/2007

Wheres PAJeff3? Shouldn't he be here telling us it's a good thing that the power has been taken over by the militants It's all part of the Bush plan to defeat the insurgents! It represents progress on the ground! It's ALLLLLLLL propaganda! And so many Americans still buy into it.

[innerpeace]

10:20 AM on 08/23/2007

AmmoBob-I realize that you people are being told to make things up about Democrats and the surge,but could you,please,make up things that sound, at least, somewhat sensible.I know you can do it if you try.Save the obvious lies for sites like that run by Michelle Malkin.People on that site will believe anything no matter how far fetched it is.

[Ammobob]

10:44 AM on 08/23/2007

LIES? Be specific. C'mon, focus. No general rhetoricals allowed.

I can believe my sites and you can believe yours. You say 'tomato', I say 'potato'.

[Ammobob]

10:45 AM on 08/23/2007

And what do you mean by 'you people'? Being ethnic?

[innerpeace]

10:49 AM on 08/23/2007

I and many others have already pointed out all the bs you make up,but you already knew that.

[HumeSkeptic]

10:16 AM on 08/23/2007

Goody! Now we can "surge" in the dark.