Rebuilding Iraq: Slow but steady progressBy Matt Kelley - USA Today
Posted : Tuesday Mar 23, 2010 7:41:49 EDT
WASHINGTON — Seven years after the invasion, the reconstruction of Iraq has taken longer and cost more than initial estimates,
but U.S. officials say money spent training Iraqi security forces has started to show results and has helped protect American investments.Although some results, such as oil production, have fallen short of early estimates, other projects, such as sewage treatment, have exceeded initial goals, according to U.S. officials, outside experts and the U.S. government watchdog for Iraq reconstruction.
“There has been some significant progress, but there’s a long way to go before Iraq can really be a stable, secure country that’s able to provide for its people’s basic needs,” said Rusty Barber, head of the Iraq program at the federally funded United States Institute of Peace.
Overall, the U.S. has spent $44.6 billion in taxpayer funds on rebuilding Iraq, about half of it to train, equip and support Iraq’s military and police forces.
Reconstruction projects were slowed by the explosion of civil strife in Iraq in the early post-invasion years and by problems of mismanagement and poor coordination among U.S. agencies, according to Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen. He estimates that the U.S. wasted about $4 billion.
Rest of article at:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/03/gns_iraq_rebuilding_032310/unhappycamper comment: "money spent training Iraqi security forces has started to show results and has helped protect American investments' explains why the United States is still there. American investments. 
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