U.S. wasted billions in rebuilding Iraq: auditors

“It is the duty of the Americans to do such projects because they were the ones who inflicted harm on people.”

That says it all right there. But of course some resident JT posters will claim they know more about it than the people there, who are suffering and need stability; those same people who would of course never ever go there themselves.

It's a shame so much has been wasted, but that it would happen was known for a long time, and that it was simply lucrative stuff for contractors also. I only hope they can make use of the structures eventually, if not now.

The Reaganomic trickle-down effect for all this squandering of wealth and hope is now manifesting itself in one simple fact: The once great USA is in such bad shape itself, that soon its infrastructure, economy and international status will easily be comparable with that of Iraq. Defunct on all counts. What a shame!

Bechtel Corp.’s revenue was $31.4 billion in 2008. US$31.4 billion!

I'll join in with the extremist Right and lay the blame for ALL of this at the feet of president Barack Obama. In joining hands with the extremist Right, I refuse to let the fact that most of this wastage occurred under the previous president's watch deter me from blaming president Barack Obama.

Do I get this right? One administration wastes money on destroying a nation, the next wastes it on rebuilding that same nation?

nope, 1 administration wasted money on destroying a nation then the same administration gave lucrituve contracts to their buddies to rebuild the very same nation who also probably profited from the destruction too.

nope, 1 administration wasted money on destroying a nation then the same administration gave lucrituve contracts to their buddies to rebuild the very same nation who also probably profited from the destruction too.

OK, I get that part. The new administration gets blamed for the waste on rebuilding??

Do I get this right? One administration wastes money on destroying a nation, the next wastes it on rebuilding that same nation?

The dates from this article are from 2003 to 2008, covering just one administration. The next administration took over in 2009.

This money did not go to waste. Cheney's friends had a great laugh all the way to the bank, and if the amounts they robbed the U.S. of are any indication, they are probably laughing still, and will be laughing even long after they have died.

But a bag of truth is a lot heavier than a bag lies, and conservatives, being weak, will insist upon carrying the lies.

Cheney's friends had a great laugh all the way to the bank...

Yeah, time to put that empty $40 million prison the desert north of Baghdad; fill it up with Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, Rice, ....

Anyway, here is a good discussion of this theft:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=noT9auswz0A

And the missing 8.7 billion dollars that cannot be accounted for?

No wonder the US is skint.

I'm sure the defense companies where Bush's daddy and friends hold stock also did well out of the invasion.

The fiasco of Iraq was the biggest corruptions in history and the world will remembered! Thanks to those neocons...you guys crashed US reputation in jsut a few years of time!

In embracing the best practices of the extreme Right, I feel it's entirely appropriate to throw my hands up in the air and bewail that this wastage - that occured under the watchful eye of the previous U.S. president - is all Bill Clinton's doing. No, Nancy Pelosi's behind it. No, Harry Reid. Hang on - Barack Obama and Reverend Wright....Anyone but the ever-righteous conservatives.

can't america just charge it to their black express card??!

or has it been declined??!

Can anyone find information on which services have improved since the invasion and rebuilding?

And they ask why isnt the U.S.A. improving at all economically!!! It is because of all of these foolish spending that doesnt do anything for anyone, but only waste money.

"Can anyone find information on which services have improved since the invasion and rebuilding?"

Well, I guess due to popular demand that funeral services have improved....

The idea that these ghost derelicts herald the future of Iraq sends shivers down my spine. 100 years from now, these rusting hulks, half buried in sand, may be cited as the high-water point of American imperialism. Here's to hoping that that doesn't happen, but if it does: blame Clinton. Or Obama. The Christian Republic of America will give you two choices.

Their water services are still very limited. Electricity is still restricted to 4 hours a day over a large portion of the country. Sewer services are still not rebuilt.

bush made it a point to destroy all of the country's infrastructure out of pure ignorance.

They had already spent over 30 days with 1000s of inspectors and found absolutely no WMD, but it was such a great idea to destroy and demolish the entire country.

Shock and Aw was the doing of a cabal of people that did no planning on how to take out a dictator without destroying a country. Now the people of the US have to pay to rebuild Iraq. < :-)

aday, no, Rumsfeld said the WMD were north, south, east west of Tikrit, if I remember correctly.

The conservatives bought that one hook, line and sinker, too.

But the US HAS a billion to burn, what other countries can say that? (Kiwis? Aussies? Methinks not)

The saddest thing is that even the word "waste" is a euphemism for graft on a mindboggling scale.

The US doesn't have $Billions to burn. We're paying for the two wars. We're paying the bush tax breaks, or not taking in funds due to the bush tax breaks. Paying a drug prescription program that wasn't funded. george bush gave away in excess of $600 Billion with TARP. (At least Obama made the stimulus plan a loan program.)

So Debucho, we don't have money to waste.

And the republicans want to keep the bush tax breaks.

The money wasted in Iraq by the prior administration is a clear example of the way they did business.

Democrats have been stereotyped as tax and spend. The republicans have been an example of tax breaks and spend. < :-)

Debucho - "But the US HAS a billion to burn," - of borrowed money.

"aday, no, Rumsfeld said the WMD were north, south, east west of Tikrit, if I remember correctly."

And just before that phrase were the words " We know where they are "

adaydream: Their water services are still very limited. Electricity is still restricted to 4 hours a day over a large portion of the country. Sewer services are still not rebuilt. bush made it a point to destroy all of the country's infrastructure out of pure ignorance.

We attacked their sewer, water, and electrical systems during the invasion?

SushiSake3 at 12:20 AM JST - 31st August. Debucho - "But the US HAS a billion to burn," - of borrowed money.

Doesn't matter. Iraqis would be forced to pay for U.S. war efforts in their country with long term oil revenues.

Damned Socialists! Spending all of our childrens' money. I want my country back! Wait, did you say Iraq? Oops, never mind.

Yes, and Japan can do the same by paying the ransom some countries are asking for for crimes committed 100 years ago. Don't get involved. Spend the yen on Japan's needs.

Doesn't matter. Iraqis would be forced to pay for U.S. war efforts in their country with long term oil revenues.

Why ??? Iraqis didn't ask America to invade. Isn't it clear for you now that this wasn't a war, but a huge US profitable business ? ( well, it's rather Bush & Co.'s profitable business)

Cut their arm off and give them a strawberry lollipop

Shoot them in the leg and give them a band-aid.

You can blame the 2 Bush's (papa and son freakin retards) for creating this disaster.

Papa Bush & Son Bush need to repent for their sins, wasted billions They should have done that to New Orleans after Katrina !!!!! What a waste of money !!!!

FromEurope at 06:02 AM JST - 31st August. Why ??? Iraqis didn't ask America to invade. Isn't it clear for you now that this wasn't a war, but a huge US profitable business ?

Was the U.S. acting on behalf of an oil industry desperate to get its hands on oil that had long been denied it as a result of U.N. and unilateral sanctions prohibiting business between U.S. companies and Hussein? After all, oil is an absolutely indispensable requirement for running modern economies and militaries. And the invasion was possibly a forceful demonstration to the rest of the world, especially potential strategic rivals like China, Russia, or even the European Union, of U.S. ability to quickly and effectively conquer and control an oil-rich nation in the heart of the energy-rich Middle East/Gulf region any time it wishes, perhaps persuading those lesser powers that challenging the U.S. could well prove counter-productive to long-term interests, if not their supply of energy in the short term.

SuperLib you've been on this site and kept up with Iraq long enough to know that they did. We bombed the power plants, water purification plants, water treatment plants and damns. But if you want you can do one of two things and that's either take my word for it or look it up yourself. < :-)

"the power system was not significantly affected by the last conflict"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Iraq

Shall we keep going?

The money for the reconstruction of Iraq is in the same place of the Weapons of Mass Destruction... nowhere to be found.

eight multi-purpose dams during the Gulf war, destroying flood control systems, irrigation, municipal and industrial water storage, and hydroelectric power.

http://www.envirosagainstwar.org/sayno/irn_waterwarandiraq.html

No you don't need to go any farther. < :-)

dadydream, you do realize that that article was written before the 2003 invasion, correct?

Nope. One reference is UNDP 2003. This report didn't come out till late 2003. < :-)

http://www.undp.org/evaluation/documents/MDGR%20-exec-report.pdf

So when you read, "The US Defense Department has recently claimed that Iraq plans to destroy dams as part of a scorched earth strategy in the event of an invasion" you take that to mean that the article was written after the invasion?

You'll be able to find plenty of information about the the infrastructure in Iraq. You'll see that it was underfunded by Saddam, then the first Gulf War did a lot of damage to it, then it was hit a 3rd time by sanctions. What you won't find is information about Bush doing much damage to it. In practical terms that means the information is mostly useless to you since you can't attack Bush Jr.

Still want to keep going?

Sure. < :-)

U.S wasted Billions in Distructing Iraq , Exchange For Oil