Investigation Reveals“Reconstruction Racket” In Iraq

[Triana]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 21, 2004
1:17 PM
CONTACT: Southern Exposure
Chris Kromm [phone] x26

Investigation Reveals“Reconstruction Racket” In Iraq

DURHAM, N.C. – January 21 - A team of investigative reporters in Iraq have uncovered a pattern of waste and abuse among U.S. companies receiving multi-billion-dollar “reconstruction” contracts in the country, including massive over-charges for projects; shoddy work or a failure to complete tasks; and ignoring local experts who contend they could do the job better and cheaper.

The in-depth report by Pratap Chatterjee and Herbert Docena, published in the latest issue of Southern Exposure magazine (www.southernstudies.org), is one of the first on-the-ground accounts of how U.S. taxpayer money given to Bechtel, Halliburton and other companies is being spent.

The investigative team spent three weeks in Iraq visiting project sites, analyzing contracts, and interviewing dozens of administrators, contract workers, and U.S. officials. Among the findings:

Despite over eight months of work and billions of dollars spent, key pieces of Iraq’s infrastructure – power plants, telephone exchanges, and sewage and sanitation systems – have either not been repaired, or have been fixed so poorly that they don’t function.

San Francisco-based Bechtel has been given tens of millions of dollars to repair Iraq’s schools. Yet many haven’t been touched, and several schools that Bechtel claims to have repaired are in shambles. One “repaired” school was overflowing with unflushed sewage; a teacher at the school also reported that “the American contractors took away our Japanese fans and replaced them with Syrian fans that don’t work” – billing the U.S. government for the work.

...

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0121-05.htm

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. You didn't need a crystal ball to see this one coming

This was to be expected from the first day that the money started flowing. It's taken just about long enough for the first cases to surface - a little less than a year.

I predicted at that time that we will be dealing with an endless number of cases of fraud related to these Iraq contracts, probably for the rest of our lives.

[Terwilliger]

2. PLEASE RICO these asswipes!

Get them shut down and make sure everybody knows what crooks Bush and his cronies are.

[gate of the sun]

3. who will hold them accountable?

Who will report it besides commondreams?
It will come out eventually, hopefully

We the American people have paid for this with our tax dollars and with the lives of our people.

where is the outrage going to come from?

[leftchick]

6. I am still waiting for the pentagon investigation of the missing

3 TRILLION dollars! Perhaps this is where it went?

[supercrash]

4. Hate to say it...

But, The American people deserve this, they made some very stupid decisions and must pay for it...they deserve another 4 years of Bush, there is no way they should be let off the hook with a democrat as President

They made some very serious decisions in the recent past...and they must pay for those views...they cannot send back this war they ordered like it is some cold soup at the deli

Their views put my life in danger...and I want to see them reap what they sow...fucking idiot zombies

And lets look at the 9-11 attack...If Bush was threatening the Taliban with war before 9-11 then that makes the 9-11 attacks legit...it was a pre-emptive strike at a country that was threatening them...Bush's own policy used against him...sure they attacked innocent people, but we have killed many more innocent in Iraq.

And after seeing all the lies unravel that were told about Iraq...and STILL seeing most of the country approve A WAR BASED ON LIES....then I no longer think of the American people as innocent. How can I ? ...They support war based on lies...they are no longer innocent...they are targets ...let them reap what they sow for once, why let them off the hook with a Democrat as President ? ...Let them learn a lesson here.

[creativelcro]

5. No surprise there... We had reconstruction racket in Boston

with the Big Dig and Bechtel... Can you imagine in a place far away ? All sort of shady stuff is probably going on...

[GringoTex]

7. Much of the "shoddy work" can be attributed to the fact that

25-year-old army captains with no engineering training are in charge of reconstructing public utility infrastructures. The whole occupation is poorly managed. I'm waiting for one of the Dem candidates to focus on "incompetence" in regard to Iraq.