Iraqi Official: Baghdad Is Drowning In Sewage

AFP:

Baghdad is drowning in sewage, thirsty for water and largely powerless, an Iraqi official said on Sunday in a grim assessment of services in the capital five years after the US-led invasion.

One of three sewage treatment plants is out of commission, one is working at stuttering capacity while a pipe blockage in the third means sewage is forming a foul lake so large it can be seen "as a big black spot on Google Earth," said Tahseen Sheikhly, civilian spokesman for the Baghdad security plan.

Sheikhly told a news conference in the capital that water pipes, where they exist, are so old that it is not possible to pump water at a sufficient rate to meet demands -- leaving many neighbourhoods parched.

A sharp deficit of 3,000 megawatts of electricity adds to the woes of residents, who are forced to rely on neighbourhood generators to light up their lives and heat their homes.

"Sewerage, water and electricity are our three main problems," said Sheikhly, adding that many of these problems date back to the Saddam Hussein regime when not enough attention was paid to basic infrastructure.

Insurgency, sectarian violence and vandalism since the US-led invasion in March 2003 had further ravaged services in the capital, he added.

More positively, he said, the extensive Baghdad security plan, known as Operation Fardh al-Qanoon (Imposing Law) and launched on February 14 last year, was allowing services to be gradually restored.

"After the destruction there is now the reconstruction," Sheikhly said. "We have solved many of the security problems, now we can focus on rebuilding."

Education and health across Iraq had both seen improvements, according to US military commander Brigadier General Jeffrey Dorko of the US Gulf Regional Division which is engaged in reconstruction projects

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Comments

[wadenelson1]

I bet it would be hard to find a single Iraqi who didn't prefer life under Saddam Hussein.

Wayta go Rebuttlickens!

[loki]

I do believe that is what G W Bush refers to as
" Spreading Democracy"

[Ihaveadream]

No wonder they hate us. As bad as Saddam was, at least he was keeping the fundamentalist crazies out and the water, heat and electricity on. It was the embargoes that created shortages.

Ahhhh good old blowback - we create them, give them toys, and then can't control them.

[helonias]

But Al quaida is on the run.

Does that mean he has the shitz too.

[urbanrevolt]

It is just inspiring to see what suburban and rural America has done to cities everywhere around the world for their commutes.

Inspiring.

When those forces put their heads together, they can villify any urban area to the point of absolute numbness.

Go team culture war!

[fact finder]

What happened to the billions of dollars that were supposedly spent to fix this problem.? May be in the personal banmk accounts of the Halliburton, KBR and other ceo's

[researcher]

but the surge is working.

what a horrible thing we did to those people all for the want of oil under the lies and deception of looking for WMD's knowing full well he had none.

then it was to free the people from a dictator while we installed our own dictator and the loss of many of our rights.

the surge was designed to give the iraqs time to get their act together but when that did not happen then we talked about fewer american deaths.

in their hearts most americans are imperialists and many are war mongers. until we come to grips with that aspect of american culture nothing will change in america.

the cost of maintaining our empire and our war mongering will bankrupt this country and destroy the middle class.

americans are dumb enough to think our military budget is a denfese budget rather than an offensive.

"A nation that spends more year after year on military offense (and I mean offense) than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death". (Gunnels)