Just how out of control is this entire situation? Rumsfeld is truly fighting 'the enemy within', isn't he? The international community is and remains vigorously opposed to this war. Now some 60% of the American public have come to the same conclusion. His generals are telling him that they are hitting a brick wall and that he, Rumsfeld, will have succeeded in destroying the volunteer army by about September next year.

Cui bono?

There has to be a political process that will get 90% or more of Iraqis on board. This will have to happen eventually, but Mr Bush seems to think he can win with military alone. No war ever ends without a political agreement.

After seeing Mississippi Katrina victims living in tents last night with no FEMA money in sight, I want to know why we are going to spend $1 billion rebuilding Iraq when funds from their oil wealth was supposed to fund it.

Questions, questions...

Now what was the $18B reconstruction supposed to do?
[the fact that funds are not yet available suggests this is beyond the $18B]

How much real work will be done when the cost of security for other programs has been 25-30% of costs?

Why no requirements to work in tandem with the Coalition military? Why no reference to working with the Iraqi institutions?

Why not have Iraqis do this for themselves? Is this program open to Iraqi groups to run these programs?

Does design and implement mean do actual work to stabilize? If so what is the commitment to keep the programs going once they start or are these quick 1-2 year efforts?

Is stabilization a higher priority than electricity?

having worked with a few USAID projects, this makes my stomach churn...

is that the sound of an no-bid proposal being prepared by halliburton i hear in the background...?

http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/2005/12/request-for-proposal-peace-in-iraq.html

Carch-22: "Funds are not yet available for this program."

Although they can fix that if the contractor manages to convince congressmen that the money will go to subcontractors in their districts.

Sorry - that's Catch-22.

Unbelievable! Conservatives will privatize anything! Including cleaning up the mess they've made in Iraq! Or, maybe it's totally believable...what was I thinking?

Yes, the heavens will fall if we have public education in America, if we have free lunch programs for kids in America...but when it comes to privatizing our "stabilization effort" in Iraq, the skies the limit. No doubt the "stability" of such political thoughts will be reflected in Iraq with equal vigor.

To put the upcoming $1Billion for 10 cities in perspective, the USG's Community Action Program (CAP) spent about $100Million this year on local stuff in cities and towns (this excludes the big infrastructure like power & water and includes stuff for municipal services like fire trucks and ambulances and garbage trucks as well as other "soft" local services). These funds were spent in 17 of the 18 provinces and in all five official "regions" of Iraq.

Here is the basic breakout:

· Northern Iraq and Al-Anbar Region: The NGO partner ACDI-VOCA in this region focuses on the conflict-impacted areas of the Sunni Triangle, Mosul, Kirkuk and the Iran-Iraq and Syria-Iraq border areas. 433 projects have been completed with over $29 million in project commitments.

· South-Central Region: The NGO partner Community Housing Foundation (CHF) in this region has established active Community Associations in the Shia'a areas of Najaf, Karbala, and Babil governorates. The program has been well received by local government and religious leaders. The NGO has completed 322 projects with project commitments of over $21.5 million.

· Baghdad Region: The NGO partner IRD has completed 522 projects through its Community Association in Baghdad. Income generation is an important emphasis due to the high levels of unemployment in the city. To date, 124 small business grants have been approved which will generate 550 long-term jobs, of which 31 percent will target females. Total project commitments are $22.3 million.

· Southeast-Central Region: Mercy Corps, the NGO partner has completed 179 projects and has over $16.7 million in total commitments in the predominately Shia'a areas of Qadisiyah, Maysan and Wasit governorates; the projects are addressing needs resulting from decades of governmental neglect.

· South Region: The NGO Save the Children has completed 625 projects through 138 Community Associations in which women's participation has averaged over 40 percent. Total project commitments are $21.9 million.

Realist Nation Builder

Posted by Realist Nation Builder at December 1, 2005 04:56 PM

An unfortunate acronym, as it's already been used. Computer techs have known this for years as "scuzzy".

Reader "bakho" comments:

"There has to be a political process that will get 90% or more of Iraqis on board."

There is. It's called "entitlements". This is not an easy word for some of our leaders to contemplate.

The advent of Social Security turned a lot of 1930's radicals into good union men by delivering the ultimate reward of the Socialist state without any of the messy preliminaries. At some point, groping toward a formula that works, our leaders may rediscover that government for the people tends not to perish.

Entitlements are its instantiation.

The Iraqi insurgent is fighting to keep the foreigners from stealing his oil. Also perhaps to get a head-start in nabbing his share. We, of course, are fighting to free him. Perhaps we could get on the same front as him by declaring our belief in his right to his oil.

An easy way to do this is for those who have voices to suggest that the government now forming might consider ways that the oil revenue could be used to benefit the people of Iraq.

If each Iraqi citizen had, by way of his government, a non-fungible right to an early retirement such as Social Security, loyalty could again be bought.

To get out of this dilemma we must relinquish any notion of privatizing the oil. Like the monkey caught with its hand in the jar and unwilling to let go of the banana, we are stuck on this limiting premise. Once we can tell them "You can have the oil", we can get out.

For now, we are willing to spend a billion dollars of our own money doing for them what their own oil can do. We only need to say that we think they should have it.

Who thinks they should have their oil? Is anyone saying this in public?

Ohhh, I hear "USAID" and I think: incompetent, inexperienced and self-interested managers over contractors of varying quality.

I would say that RTI has the inside track on this contract, having run the Local Government Projects I and II in Iraq. They have some knowledgeable people.

I would think ADF (America's Development Foundation) might want to bid on part of it. They are doing a good job on a civil society project.

Bearing Point, Booz Allen, Deloitte Touche, will try of a piece of this big pie, too.