Iraq rebuilding short on qualified civilians, Reconstruction hampered by violence and turf wars

[maddezmom]

Reconstruction hampered by violence and turf wars between U.S. agencies

By Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Updated: 2:56 a.m. ET Feb. 24, 2007
In Diyala, the vast province northeast of Baghdad where Sunnis and Shiites are battling for primacy with mortars and nighttime abductions, the U.S. government has contracted the job of promoting democracy to a Pakistani citizen who has never lived or worked in a democracy.

The management of reconstruction projects in the province has been assigned to a Border Patrol commander with no reconstruction experience. The task of communicating with the embassy in Baghdad has been handed off to a man with no background in drafting diplomatic cables. The post of agriculture adviser has gone unfilled because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided just one of the six farming experts the State Department asked for a year ago.

"The people our government has sent to Iraq are all dedicated, well-meaning people, but are they really the right people -- the best people -- for the job?" asked Kiki Skagen Munshi, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer who, until last month, headed the team in Diyala that included the Pakistani democracy educator and the Border Patrol commander. "If you can't get experts, it's really hard to do an expert job."

more:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17309199/

[shance]

1. I think we all know what the Reconstruction is "hampered by".

Wouldnt the truth be nice for a change?