Report: U.S. 'wasted' $560 million on Iraq repairs

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CNN

The United States has "wasted" more than half a billion dollars in Iraq repairing facilities that were damaged because of poor security, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction says in a report released Wednesday.

Stuart Bowen's quarterly report arrived at a price tag of $560 million by tallying the results of more than 100 audits his office has conducted.

Further billions had to be diverted from reconstruction to security because the Bush administration did not adequately foresee how volatile Iraq would be when it began rebuilding the country, the report says.

"The U.S. government did not fully anticipate or plan for the unstable working environment that faced U.S. managers when reconstruction began in Iraq," it says.



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/30/iraq.reconstruction/index.html

[valerief]

1. I think "siphoned" is a more accurate verb. nt

[superconnected]

2. Billions were diverted from reconstruction to security. Probably Blackwater.

Notice they said billions not millions.

"Further billions had to be diverted from reconstruction to security because the Bush administration did not adequately foresee how volatile Iraq would be when it began rebuilding the country, the report says."

[Solly Mack]

3. so..uh..no one could anticipate the instability of a war zone ?

that building while bombing was volatile came as a surprise?

Seriously?

Someone pocketed that money. Several someones...and this is just another "mistakes made" and "no one could have anticipated" excuse

[Amonester]

9. They "catapulted" their "greeted as LIBERATORS" bull...

Either they Really believed in their own bull... (which would be further evidence of their absolute - and "costly," to say the least - STUPIDITY), or it was PLANNED to be such a HUMONGOUS (to say the least) RIP-OFF of the middle-, and working-class national credit card (Treasury's National DEBT to foreclosing limits)!!

Or both...

[Auggie]

4. The whole "war" is a waste

[jimshoes]

5. To be honest I think it's closer to

$560 billion wasted in Iraq.

[bemildred]

6. Chicken feed. Peanuts. Chump change. nt

[defendandprotect]

7. Poor guy probably thought they cared about him . . .!!!

[WoodyM]

8. The human toll

and the trillions we’re are spending in Iraq aren’t the cost of freedom, much as George Bush would like us to believe that. They are only the cost of war.

[bronxiteforever]

10. Kick & R

[defendandprotect]

11. Only $560 million --- and we have no money for the unemployed, for national health care,

to fix our bridges --- !!!!

[Historic NY]

12. And they still can't get electrical power working correctly 5yrs later.

[ShockediSay]

13. Public funds into private pockets. Stealth tax increase

another one