Fables of the reconstruction (leaked US-CPA memo)

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

AS THE SITUATION in Iraq grows ever more tenuous, the Bush administration continues to spin the ominous news with matter-of-fact optimism. According to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Iraqi uprisings in half a dozen cities, accompanied by the deaths of more than 100 soldiers in the month of April alone, is something to be viewed in the context of "good days and bad days," merely "a moment in Iraq's path towards a free and democratic system." More recently, the president himself asserted, "Our coalition is standing with responsible Iraqi leaders as they establish growing authority in their country."

But according to a closely held Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) memo written in early March, the reality isn't so rosy. Iraq's chances of seeing democracy succeed, according to the memo's author -- a U.S. government official detailed to the CPA, who wrote this summation of observations he'd made in the field for a senior CPA director -- have been severely imperiled by a year's worth of serious errors on the part of the Pentagon and the CPA, the U.S.-led multinational agency administering Iraq. Far from facilitating democracy and security, the memo's author fears, U.S. efforts have created an environment rife with corruption and sectarianism likely to result in civil war.

Provided to this reporter by a Western intelligence official, the memo was partially redacted to protect the writer's identity and to "avoid inflaming an already volatile situation" by revealing the names of certain Iraqi figures. A wide-ranging and often acerbic critique of the CPA, covering topics ranging from policy, personalities and press operations to on-the-ground realities such as electricity, the document is not only notable for its candidly troubled assessment of Iraq's future. It is also significant, according to the intelligence official, because its author has been a steadfast advocate of "transforming" the Middle East, beginning with "regime change" in Iraq.

contd:
http://www.athensnews.com/issue/article.php3?story_id=16502

[LeftHander]

1. Kick

[BadGimp]

2. Kick

[TacticalPeek]

3. A familiar aspect:

The memo also notes that while Iraqi police "remain too
fearful to enforce regulations," they are making a pretty
penny as small-arms dealers, with the CPA as an unwitting
partner. "CPA is ironically driving the weapons market," it
reveals. "Iraqi police sell their U.S.-supplied weapons on the
black market; they are promptly re-supplied. Interior
ministry weapons buy-backs keep the price of arms high."

snip

"Their corruption is our corruption."

--------


ARVN, who would envy the buy-back angle.

[trumad]

4. Sounds like a PNAC'er wrote this

and at least has the honesty to say, Oh Shit! This is important shit!

[Jacobin]

14. Exactly

"We had a great idea to conquer Iraq, but you guys screwed it all up. Really, if you'd conquered them correctly, it would all be rosey"

[JohnOneillsMemory]

5. The Cheney administration is doing the same thing in Iraq as the US.

"Far from facilitating democracy and security, the memo's author fears, U.S. efforts have created an environment rife with corruption and sectarianism likely to result in civil war."

My gawd, that's an accurate description of our own country.
Ooh-nevermind, I think there's a 'Friends' re-run coming up!

[denverbill]

6. Wow. This is pretty damning.

I found this para esp interesting:

"As Yaruub Jasim, the plant's manager, explained, "Normally we have power 23 hours a day. We should have done maintenance on these turbines in October, but we had no spare parts and money." And why not? According to Jasim, the necessary replacement parts were supposed to come from Bechtel, but they hadn't arrived yet -- in part because Bechtel's priority was a months-long independent examination of power plants with an eye toward total reconstruction. And while parts could have been cheaply and quickly obtained from Russian, German or French contractors -- the contractors who built most of Iraq's power stations -- "unfortunately," Jasim told Chatterjee and Docena, "Mr. Bush prevented the French, Russian and German companies from Iraq." (In an interview last year with the San Francisco Chronicle, Bechtel's Iraq operations chief held that "to just walk in and start fixing Iraq" was "an unrealistic expectation.")"

----------------------
So while Iraqis were (and are) still suffering through electrical outages, Bechtel is raking in money trying to redo their entire electrical system, instead of just fixing what's already there. Pathetic.

[young_at_heart]

19. What exactly is Bechtels's conection to the White House?

They seem to have a lot of power.

[denverbill]

20. They're well-connected, to say the least.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3397.htm

[Dhalgren]

7. This little tid-bit puts our true prespective and intentions

in a clear light:

"arresting radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr, an event that would "make other populist leaders think twice" about bucking the CPA."

We are out to silence all "populist leaders"? Oh yeah, in a "democracy" you can't have "populists" running around. This whole thing is such a tissue of lies - I can't even find the appropriate words. To paraphase Howard Dean - "AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

[priller]

8. Kick! Kick! Kick!

Wow, this thing is full of damning incompetence. I liked this telling paragraph also:

Using the Kurds as an example (of patronage), he reveals that "we have bestowed approximately $600 million upon the Kurdish leadership, in addition to the salaries we pay, in addition to the USAID projects, in addition to the taxes which we have allowed them to collect illegally." To underscore the point, the author adds that he recently spent an evening with a Kurdish contact watching "The Godfather" trilogy, and notes that "the entire evening was spent discussing which Iraqi Kurdish politicians represented which character."

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

9. I know! I'm gonna have to read this several times over

until it all sinks in!

[Dhalgren]

10. And this memo was from a supporter!

Think how damning this really is; if this were an assessment made by some pink-o liberal, then yeah "go figure". But this is an evaluation by an ardent supporter, who wants it all to go well! This is a killing document (in all the ways that could be taken)!

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

13. Totally -- I was (& still am) wondering who the author was

My completely uninformed theory is that it's John Bolton FWIW.

[TacticalPeek]

15. David Kay?

?

Fits some clues.

But I thought the "6-year-olds playing soccer" was Jon Stewart's line?

Perhaps the author is crack investigative reporter, Steven Colbert, on the job in Mess O' Potamia?

:)

[nolabels]

17. Using the Kurds as wedge just like every other country in the region

Then the Kurds being propped up by the rest of world to make sure the strife continues. It is no wonder the turks didn't want them to go through the north. If they did the oppression that is whipped up just to keep power of the ruling turks would be much weakened. This when the rest of the population finds out the great bogey man in the Kurds is that they are also ordinary people being placed in a game of pawns.

The job of the Corporate Media is to paint the people of Iraq who disagree with the Corporate hegemony as the devil in carnate. The only real way they can do this is portray them as something different from the rest of US.

On edit: I know there was a great movement to keep the peace and twart Bushco from going through Turkey, but I also know part of that theory above has to be true to some extent. Never hearing from the middle also has it's drawbacks. After all Canada didn't let the US use it's northern borders as much as it probably wanted when it was spying and staring down the USSR through the last half the century.

[Imalittleteapot]

11. Kick.

[Just Me]

12. Apparently, the threshhold for an intentional "cover-up" is the sky,...

,...nowadays, as it applies to US executive leadership. Even, in-your-face evidence is rationalized away,...which, I just find nuts and cannot HELP but wonder whether the American people are half-way if not totally brainwashed.

Also,...I cannot imagine that, even though redacted, this memo will not be tied to the author, right quick,...unless, well, unless at least some advanced planning for the release had already taken place. When one considers the reality associated with being a "whistle-blower" in such conditions,...it makes the release more impactful on so many levels.

[TacticalPeek]

16. Kick. n/t

[sendero]

18. success....

....has many fathers. Failure is an orphan.

[fizzana]

21. E-mail this story to everyone you know. I have.

This is a far bigger deal than Woodward's book. This memo blows away any defense of the war and the aftermath. This blows away any argument that despite the problems in Iraq, we're still doing some good.

I also hope the Democrats are all over this. This should be the # 1 talking point for every Democrat on any talking head show. If only the Democrats acted more like the Republicans when it comes to getting out the message.

I'm also sure this is the main reason some of the coalition members want to get the hell out of Iraq. They see this whole thing falling apart after June 30 (not that it has already started to fall apart.)

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

22. kick - it's getting picked up by UK media!

Americans warned of looming 'civil war'
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=513612


Scathing Coalition Memo Warns of Iraqi Civil War
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2807479

[fizzana]

23. Let's hope some in the media here wake up.

I follow what's going on in Iraq as closely as possible but a few things in this memo managed to blow my already cynical mind.

1 - Iran, through money and proxys, is establishing a strong foothold in the South.

2 - Iraqi police are selling arms to the insurgents and we are happily replacing them - the bottom line is that we (taxpayers) are paying for the weapons that are killing American troops.

Will the mainstream media even wake up to this. It's pretty obvious that coalition allies are aware of this which is why more and more of them want to run for the exits.

[fedsron2us]

26. An eye opening article

It reveals what a 'Ship of Fools' the CPA has become.

[democracy eh]

24. What? this story is drifting down LBN?

not anymore
Kick

[fizzana]

25. This is the big story, not Woodward's book.

n/t

[Dhalgren]

29. The CPA memo and Woodward's book is a very fancy

"one-two" punch! Woodward lines up the dirty deals going down in the US government, while "The Memo" paints an even worse picture of the same kind of (neo)con-man crap being forced on the people of Iraq. I say the two pieces work hand-in-0glove to show what this pos administration is all about.

[davhill]

27. Those who have know Idea what Democracy is

Are singularly unqualified to build it.

[fizzana]

28. kick for the night people

n/t

[Tuttle]

30. kick n/t

Tut-tut

[Cooley Hurd]

31. Good title for the article...

...especially coming from Athens (GA) News! :thumbsup: