State Dept. Study Foresaw Trouble Now Plaguing Iraq

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 — A yearlong State Department study predicted many of the problems that have plagued the American-led occupation of Iraq, according to internal State Department documents and interviews with administration and Congressional officials.

Beginning in April 2002, the State Department project assembled more than 200 Iraqi lawyers, engineers, business people and other experts into 17 working groups to study topics ranging from creating a new justice system to reorganizing the military to revamping the economy.

Their findings included a much more dire assessment of Iraq's dilapidated electrical and water systems than many Pentagon officials assumed. They warned of a society so brutalized by Saddam Hussein's rule that many Iraqis might react coolly to Americans' notion of quickly rebuilding civil society.

Several officials said that many of the findings in the $5 million study were ignored by Pentagon officials until recently, although the Pentagon said they took the findings into account. The work is now being relied on heavily as occupation forces struggle to impose stability in Iraq.

more…
http://nytimes.com/2003/10/19/international/worldspecial/19POST.html?hp

[Rose Siding]

1. Operation Iraqi Failure

Lies everywhere you look. Cakewalk! WMDs! Total failure by the totally inept.

[maggrwaggr]

2. I've been watching CNN. There's no trouble.

Everything in Iraq seems pretty good to me. In fact, they're hardly reporting on it at all. Isn't the Pope in Iraq? And that guy who got bit by the tiger is really doing better, isn't that great?

[lovedems]

3. I thought part of the spin from the pentagon was

the electrical grid and water systems were in such bad shape and they never could've imagined that! I thought these were sudden revelations that they "unexpectedly" had to deal with and it was slowing down otherwise fast progress. Of course I knew there had to be more to the story and you just gave it to me. Thank you!

Now we know why they ignored the study, it went against their notion that the war and rebuilding of Iraq would be quick and painless.

[maggrwaggr]

4. Please! Are you suggesting our leaders lied to us?

How dare you.

[fabius]

5. "never could have imagined.." LOL

I wrote a letter to the editor (Oregonian) about how ANYBODY in the engineering community could have and DID know that Iraq's infrastructure was pretty screwed up after the 1991 war and 12 years of sanctions.

It was so bad that some of Halliburton's "contraband" sales to Iraq were actually water and sewer pumps. Wonder how those got on the sanctions list in the first place.

But Rummy didn't know, "who could have guessed?" and he never bothered calling the ASCE or the AWWA. Or the UN. Too much trouble I guess.

[baby_bear]

6. Got that right, fabius

And do you notice how NO mainstream medium, broadcast or written, ever discusses how we are now in the process of trying to repair the infrastructure disaster that was caused by the years of sanctions, noto just what the "war" wrought? It drives me nuts. Clearly this report recognized that,but I have heard or read nothing about this in the mainstream media.

Yet many people for 12 years warned of this disaster, and that no one would be better off for it. Quite the opposite. And now we are cleaning up our own mess.

Sickening. I don't even think a majority of the people in this country even realize the human tragedies caused by the sanctions.

Shame on us, on the U.N. and on the ignorant for allowing this to happen.

s_m

[Media_Lies_Daily]

15. Don't worry...from what we've seen lately, the mainstream media has...

...been given the "green light" to report all kinds of negative things about the Bushies/NeoCons. We've just seen the tip of the iceberg, and it's coming from all directions.

Here's a good website on the Iraqi sanctions:

Sanctions Against Iraq
<http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/sanction/indexone.htm>

"The UN Security Council imposed comprehensive economic sanctions against Iraq on August 6, 1990, just after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. When the coalition war had ousted Iraq from Kuwait the following year, the Council did not lift the sanctions, keeping them in place as leverage to press for Iraqi disarmament and other goals. The sanctions remained in place thereafter, despite a harsh impact on innocent Iraqi civilians and an evident lack of pressure on Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. A UN 'Oil-for-Food Program,' started in late 1997, offered some relief to Iraqis, but the humanitarian crisis continued. The US and UK governments always made it clear that they would block any lifting or serious reforming of sanctions as long as Hussein remained in power. After more than twelve years of sanctions had passed, the US and the UK made war on Iraq again in March, 2003, sweeping away Hussein's government. Soon after, Washington called for and obtained the lifting of sanctions, a step that gave the US occupation authority full control over Iraq's oil sales and oil industry. This section covers a wide range of sanction issues, including the humanitarian impact, the Oil-for-Food Programme, criticisms of the sanctions and the debate that took place about their termination."

Scroll down...there is quite a bit of information on this site.

[loudnclear]

7. In matter of national destiny, the military always wins out over

the diplomats. That's why the world is so fuc**d up now!

[goforit]

8. Well said!!...One ray of hope is that their is now turmoil in the military

There is a split in every US Department under BUSH.

Their ultimate strategy of CHAOS is now backfiring in their
faces.

It is time for them to go!!!

[leesa]

9. My ten year old neighbor predicted the problems we have in Iraq now

Sheesh. Pretending it wasn't all known before the fools went in.

[underpants]

10. Powell was just on Face the Nation and tapdancing

He said that he didn't know what parts were used by the Pentagon and which weren't. He stood by the study but wouldn't pull the triger and say it..........they lied and only took the parts of any reports that supported their skewed policy.

[lovedems]

11. I saw him and the thing that gets me with Powell

is you know he is lying but he doesn't appear to be very comfortable doing it. Not like Rice and Rummy who think they are being smart in their lies. I can't put my finger on it but he just isn't very good at lying or tapdancing.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

12. Well, he was pretty good at lying when he was helping to cover-up...

...My Lai, Iran-Contra, and Desert Storm Syndrome. Maybe he just WANTS you to think that he's uncomfortable with lying.

[0007]

14. Harry Belafonte told us that

a year ago.

[bpilgrim]

17. ----------------------------------------------------- mp3

http://globalfreepress.com/mp3/Harry_Bellafante/Larry%26Harry.mp3

:hi:

peace

[kayell]

16. People who are poor at lying because their concience

troubles them usually quit the lying. If they don't, and keep on with the lies, they have obviously decided that something is more important to them than their concience. What is the difference between having no concience, and having one that you ignore? No sympathy for Powell just cause he isn't a very good actor.

[Jack Rabbit]

13. Drip drip drip

There was nothing wrong with the intelligence the junta got prior to the invasion of Iraq other than it suggested that it was a bad idea without any solid justification in fact.

This is just another example to demonstrate that the junta invaded Iraq with their eyes open and didn't give two bits about the consequences.

[Ernesto]

18. "The State Department is irrelevant"

Thats what Newt Gingrich was cheer leading a few months ago. What a great little team-player for the facist right!