Iraq Reconstruction

SIGIR Speaks

David Isenberg | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Private Military Security Contractors, Iraq, Sigir, Iraq Reconstruction, Thomas Nides, David Welch, Department of State, World News
David Isenberg

According to the Defense Department, if you include the OSC-I contractors, the total for private security contractors rises to 3,577. The takeaway is that after all these years the U.S. government still has problems tracking the number of contractors working in Iraq.

Read Post

Why Doesn't Reconstruction Work?

Peter Van Buren | Posted 01.04.2012

Read More: Iraq, Afghanistan, Reconstruction, Hearts and Minds, Iraq Reconstruction, U.S. Reconstruction, Afghanistan Reconstruction, Politics News
Peter Van Buren

When a relationship begins with a war and an invasion, and all the acts of violence that go along with that, you start deep in a hole. As corruption, mistakes, accidents and half-hearted efforts plague reconstruction, that hole only gets deeper.

Read Post

Billions Of Lost Iraq Cash Finally Accounted For

The Huffington Post | Harry Bradford | Posted 12.27.2011

Read More: Iraq War, Stuart Bowen, Iraq Reconstruction, Video, Department of Defense, U.S. Military, U.S. Currency, Joseph Stiglitz, Commission on Wartime Contracting, Los Angeles Times, Coalitional Provisional Authority, Iraq Conflict, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Business News

As the decade-long Iraq conflict finally comes to close, so too does the mystery of a stockpile of American cash worth billions lost during the war. ...

Read Whole Story

Obama to Create Thousands of Jobs: In Iraq

Peter Van Buren | Posted 12.14.2011

Read More: Iraq, Job Training, Police, State Department, Unemployment Crisis, Private Security Contractors, Iraq Reconstruction, Jobs in Iraq, Iraq Work Force, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Politics News
Peter Van Buren

The U.S. is prepared to spend up to five billion dollars to create more jobs for police officers, paying $100-$150k a year. One catch: the jobs are for Iraqis, in Iraq. No Americans need apply.

Read Post

'Recipes For Disaster': Military Leaders Question Program Costing Billions In Iraq, Afghanistan

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Petraeus, Iraq War, Cerp, Iraq, Afghanistan, Afpak, Iraq Reconstruction, Government Waste, Commander's Emergency Response Program, Afghanistan War, Military Waste, World News

But in many cases, such as that of the Jadriyah Lake park, the investments under the plan, known as the Commander's Emergency Response Program, have c...

Read Whole Story

U.S. Leaving Billions In 'Legacy Of Waste' In Iraq, Special Inspector General Says

Los Angeles Times | Liz Sly, Los Angeles Times | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Stuart Bowen, Iraq War, Iraq Reconstruction Waste, Iraq Reconstruction, Iraq, Stuart Bowen Report, Iraq Waste, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, World News

Khan Bani Saad, Iraq -- The shell of a prison that will never be used rises from the desert on the edge of this dusty town north of Baghdad, a hulking...

Read Whole Story

U.S. Fears $53 Billion Spent On Reconstruction In Iraq Will Go To Waste

nytimes.com | TIMOTHY WILLIAMS | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart W. Bowen Jr., Marshall Plan, Iraq War, Gao, Iraq, Reconstruction, Nouri Al Maliki, Government Accountability Office, Politics News

In its largest reconstruction effort since the Marshall Plan, the United States government has spent $53 billion for relief and reconstruction in Iraq...

Read Whole Story

Troops In Iraq Caught Taking Reconstruction Bribes

LA Times | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Bribes, Iraq Reconstruction, Corruption Iraq, Iraq Reconstruction Bribes, Iraqis Reconstruction, Iraq, Politics News

Capt. Michael Dung Nguyen had a profitable tour of duty in Iraq -- so profitable, in fact, that soon after returning to this working-class neighborhoo...

Read Whole Story

Iraq's "Teflon Don"

Dahr Jamail | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Reconstruction, Iraq Surge, Anbar Awakening, Warwire, Iraq, Sheik Aifan Sadun, Fallujah, World News
Dahr Jamail

Today, 34-year-old Sheik Aifan Sadun may be the richest man in Falluhah, thanks to his alliance of self-interest with U.S. forces.

Read Post

How Will New U.S. Admin. Deliver on U.S. Pledge to Iraqi Refugees?

Sheri Fink | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraqi Refugees, Iraq, Iraq Reconstruction, Obama Administration, Iraq War, Barack Obama, Politics News
Sheri Fink

President-elect Barack Obama will inherit an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Iraq, including one of the largest population displacements the world has seen in many decades.

Read Post

Iraq earmarks $15 billion for reconstruction

AP | BUSHRA JUHI | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq, Warwire, Iraq Reconstruction, Iraq Infrastructure, Politics News

BAGHDAD — Iraq has earmarked some $15 billion _ nearly 25 percent of its 2009 draft budget _ to help rebuild the country's crumbling infrastruct...

Read Whole Story

A Great Text for Reformers

Amitai Etzioni | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq War, Iraq Reconstruction, Democracy Mideast, Democracy Promotion, Democracy Building, Reconstruction, Politics News
Amitai Etzioni

Anyone who believes that the United States can march into a country, topple its regime, and build a prosperous democracy, ought to read, study and read again Imperial Life in the Emerald City.

Read Post

Cholera Threatens Iraq Province Of Babel, Lack Of Clean Water Blamed

AFP | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Reconstruction, War Wire, Iraq Cholera, Babel, Iraq, Home News

HILLA, Iraq - The central Iraqi province of Babel went on alert on Monday after four people were killed by cholera and 200 others were suspected of su...

Read Whole Story

Government Payroll Sustaining Iraq Economy As Private Sector Falters

New York Times | Campbell Robertson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Private Sector, Warwire, Iraq Warwire, Iraq Recovery, Iraq Reconstruction, Iraq, Politics News

Hampered by years of violence, a decimated infrastructure, a lack of foreign investors and a flood of imports that undercut local businesses, Iraq's p...

Read Whole Story

Why Are U.S. Taxpayers Funding Reconstruction While Iraq Reaps Oil Profits?

Rep. Maxine Waters | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Oil Profits, Iraq Reconstruction, Iraq War, Maxine Waters, Iraq, Out of Iraq Caucus, Politics News
Rep. Maxine Waters

An American military occupation has not created meaningful political progress, and the Government of Iraq has allowed U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill for rebuilding Iraq.

Read Post

Baghdad Bling

Amb. Marc Ginsberg | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: John McCain, Surge, Iraq Reconstruction, Middle East, Gasoline Prices, Baghdad, Iraq, Congress, Oil, Opec, Democrats, General Accounting Office, Iraq Oil Profits, Oil Profit Surplus, Politics News
Amb. Marc Ginsberg

The sheer audacity of this White House is beyond belief -- why are we permitting Iraq's government to get away with this highway robbery when it could easily shoulder more of the reconstruction burden?

Read Post

Iraq Suffers From Dirty Water, Fears About Cholera

AP | SELCAN HACAOGLU | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq, Iraq Water Supply, Iraq Cholera, Iraq War, Iraq Reconstruction, Warwire, Politics News

BAGHDAD — Just months after Americans repaired a sewage treatment plant in southern Baghdad, insurgents attacked the facility and killed the man...

Read Whole Story

Iraqi Oil Disputes Threaten The Country's Stability

The Wall Street Journal | Gina Chon | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Reconstruction, Iraq Oil, Warwire, South Oil, Oil, Iraq Warwire, Iraq, Business News

BAGHDAD -- A political turf war is threatening the stability of Iraq's biggest cash cow: the embattled but so-far dependable South Oil Co. After chas...

Read Whole Story

Kristof: Iraqi Children Our Moral Responsibility

New York Times | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Reconstruction, Iraqi Refugees, Iraq War, Nicholas Kristof, Iraq, Iraqi Children, Politics News

The dirty little secret of the Iraq war isn't in Baghdad or Basra. Rather, it's found in the squalid brothels of Damascus and the poorest neighborhood...

Read Whole Story

The Surge Is Working? Not If You Read the Latest GAO Report

Mitchell Bard | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Reconstruction, Iraq War, Iraq Oil, Iraq Surge, Iraq Violence, Bush Iraq, Gao Report, Iraq Reconciliation, Iraq Occupation, Iraq Casualties, Iraqi Government, McCain Iraq, Iraq GAO Report Conclusions, Politics News
Mitchell Bard

What the GAO report makes clear, above all else, is that contrary to what the mainstream media and the GOP would have you believe, the surge has not worked. It's time for the U.S. military to go home.

Read Post

Fixing Iraq: Cops for COIN

Adam Elkus | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Police, Afghanistan, Iraq, Intelligence, Counterinsurgency, Iraq Police, Iraq Reconstruction, Police Reconstructrion, Peackeeping, Afghan Taliban, Politics News
Adam Elkus

The time has come for the development of standing constabulary forces that can draw talented and intelligent individuals for overseas policing.

Read Post

Bush: We Could "Easily" Be In Iraq For Another 10 Years

Reuters | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Success of the Surge, Iraq Oil Law, War in Iraq, Iraq Surge, Warwire, General Petraeus, Iraq Reconciliation, Iraq War, George W. Bush on Iraq, Bush and Iraq War, Iraq Reconstruction, Petraeus Iraq, Iraq Insurgency, Politics News

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Friday the United States would have a long-term presence in Iraq that could "easily" last a decade, but that it ...

Read Whole Story

New Iraq Approach Acknowedges Benchmarks Unmet

Washington Post | Karen DeYoung and Thomas Ricks | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Reconstruction, Iraq War, Iraq Surge, Warwire, Success of the Surge, War in Iraq, Iraq Reconciliation, General Petraeus, Iraq Insurgency, Iraq Oil Law, Petraeus Iraq, Politics News

In the year since President Bush announced he was changing course in Iraq with a troop "surge" and a new strategy, U.S. military and diplomatic offici...

Read Whole Story

US Paid $32 Million For Iraqi Base That Was Never Built

USA Today | Matt Kelley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Reconstruction, Private Contractors, Iraq Defense Ministry, Iraq War, War in Iraq, Iraq Fraud, Iraq, Iraq Bases, Warwire, Politics News

The U.S. military paid a Florida company nearly $32 million to build barracks and offices for Iraqi army units even though nothing was ever built, Pen...

Read Whole Story

FBI Probes Iraq Inspector General On Misconduct Charges

Associated Press | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Inspector General, Iraq Reconstruction, Warwire, Reconstruction in Iraq, Justice Department, Iraq War, War in Iraq, Iraq Fraud, Iraq Inspector General, Fbi, Private Contractors Iraq, Iraq, Politics News

The FBI is investigating the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, Justice Department officials said, following allegations of misconduct...

Read Whole Story