Could it have been that the invasion of Iraq was nothing but a combination of a way for The Deserting Fratboy Coward and his Bedwetting Chickenhawk allies to get wood and get elected/reelected? Gee, the 1600 Crew would never play politicswith something as serious as WAR would they? Like hell they wouldn't.
The first official history of the $25 billion American reconstruction effort in Iraq depicts a program hobbled from the outset by gross understaffing, a lack of technical expertise, bureaucratic infighting, secrecy and constantly increasing security costs, according to a preliminary draft.
Now see if you can find the key sentence in here:
The Army appropriated $1.9 million in November 2002 to create a "contingency plan" for what to do if Iraqi forces damaged or destroyed the nation's oil complexes and pipelines. That "task order," under a running contract, went to Kellogg, Brown & Root, a Halliburton subsidiary. The Army later used that task order as a justification for awarding the company a new $1.4 billion noncompetitive contract to restore oil equipment, a program that became one of the most criticized moves of the conflict partly because Vice President Dick Cheney was once the top executive at Halliburton.
Until January 2003, reconstruction planning was conducted in secrecy "to avoid the impression that the U.S. government had already decided on intervention," the draft history says. Possibly as a result, the American administrative authority arrived with no written plans or strategies for purchasing and contracting and no personnel with expertise in the area. Among the first challenges the program faced were the impossibly great needs of crumbling public works. Mr. Nash is cited in the document as saying that officials realized early on that Iraq would need $70 billion to $100 billion over several years. They were forced cut the list of projects down again and again.
"No matter how we pared the list, we needed $20 billion more than we had available or Iraqi reconstruction and transition would stall," Mr. Nash is quoted as saying.
Stumped? Well, here's some help...
Until January 2003, reconstruction planning was conducted in secrecy "to avoid the impression that the U.S. government had already decided on intervention," the draft history says.
Now, gee whiz why would you want to lie about deciding on intervention?
*"Fuck Saddam. We're taking him out." Time, March 2002
* "I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace."
-Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C., June 18, 2002
*"After all, this [Saddam Hussein] is a guy that tried to kill my dad at one time." Houston, Texas, Sep. 26, 2002
Not want to go to war? Preznit Apron Strings wanted a war with Saddam so badly he could taste it. After all, Poppy's much criticized failure to "roll in to Baghdad" was one of the things that brought much shame-by-proxy onto the Coward-in-Chief.
Saying that the 1600 wasn't just looking for an excuse to go oust Saddam is patently bullshit. If it weren't for Operation Bush Wood, his electoral prospects would certainly have dimmed with the spectacular failure (is there any other kind he has) to catch Osama bin Forgotten, who taunts him still from the relative safety of the Pakistani-Afghan border. Dead or Alive, what pathetic bullshit.
Looking at the big picture, this report shows one thing...perhaps there was something more screwed up then FEMA...the reconstruction of Iraq. Funny, isn't it? Well, not really.
posted by Jo Fish on 01.23.06 at 10:43 PM
Comments:
Screwed up? Oh, no! the plan worked perfectly -- the plan all along was to make as much money as possible, and all the principal players have made (and/or are still making) their money.
We get to reap the "reward" of being less safe, along with the bill to clean up the mess.
The systematic dismantling of FEMA and the deconstruction of Iraq were both astounding successes. The profits from those ventures are still coming in. All of W's unindicted co-conspirators agree; this has been a great ride!
The Treasury has been drained and the money of the nation put into the pockets of Haliburton "Love that Dirty Water" and its subsidiaries--this means into the pockets of the 1600 Crew. Filthy water seems to be a symbol of this 1600 Crew: Katrina, contaminated water for almost a year for some of our military in Iraq, the tsunami, safety regulations flushed down the toilet, the poison well they want to use to protect themselves...
posted by: Nina on 01.24.06 at 05:18 PM [permalink]
By the way in the world of idealism on the way to reality, did you know you're up for a Koufax award?
posted by: Nina on 01.24.06 at 05:26 PM [permalink]
Here's a site I highly recommend that you visit: http://www.bandofbrothers2006.org/candidates/
Some good guys, who've been there and done that to include defending our Constitution, are taking on a tough mission. They have my support.
posted by: Mike on 01.25.06 at 01:54 PM [permalink]
Posted a few questions to the "Band of Brothers" asking them for info. on how they were going to change the parties poor reputation on defense. Also asked if they would get the party a more focused agenda. Did it on the "Fighting Dems" website. They have too many sites out there! Blog link on that site is now gone. A road to nowhere. They need to stick to one name.
Anyhow, they have not gotten back to me... even though they promised on the site that "they were listening" and would. If you tell a person you are going to respond to correspondence, you should. Even if I did not like what they had to say, it would have been better than what I got, which was NADA.
