Postwar Iraq Chaos Blamed on Poor Planning

[ProSense]

Postwar Iraq Chaos Blamed on Poor Planning

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer
47 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Poor prewar planning left the United States without enough skilled workers to efficiently rebuild Iraq's economy and public works, according to a report issued Monday.

Snip...

While reconstruction has cost American taxpayers about $30 billion three years after the overthrown of Saddam Hussein, the country still lacks reliable electricity, water and other services. Monday's report — covering the time the country was under control of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority — said early efforts were greatly affected by personnel problems.

"Pre-war reconstruction planning assumed that Iraq's bureaucracy would go back to work when the fighting stopped," it said. "When it became clear that the Iraqi bureaucracy was in widespread disarray," occupation authorities "had to find coalition personnel to perform these tasks."

"The U.S. government workforce planning for Iraq's reconstruction suffered from a poorly structured, ad-hoc personnel management processes," the report said, calling hiring practices "haphazard."

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060228/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq_reconstruction_3

[Wilms]

1. Sorry, I'm MIHOP here, too.

Poor Planning Used to Create Postwar Iraq Chaos.

They knew what they were doing.

[RazzleDazzle]

2. I'm with you -- NO one is this incompetent.

There wasn't any "poor planning," there was in some cases NO planning (on purpose) and in other cases, planning in the opposite direction of what most people of good will would go.

And that's another thing: I do wish more people would stop automatically giving this administration an A for "meaning well," and assuming by default that their hearts are in the right place, etc. It just ain't so - or at the very least, there is NO evidence to support it, just convention.

[ProSense]

3. They are both: incompetent and completely evil. n/t

[teryang]

4. Losing a war is politically devastating - here come the excuses

When you've lost Bill Buckley - you've lost the war.