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Ear to the Ground

Rubber-Stamping ‘Failed’ Iraq Projects

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Posted on Apr 28, 2008

The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction has found a disturbing trend among Iraq rebuilding projects. Far too often, when work is incomplete, U.S. officials will revise or “descope” the terms of the contract to list the project as completed. One example: A $35-million children’s hospital in Basra that is marked completed despite the fact that it’s only 35 percent up and running.

AP via Google:

The special IG’s review of 47,321 reconstruction projects worth billions of dollars found that at least 855 contracts were terminated by U.S. officials before their completion, primarily because of unforeseen factors such as violence and excessive costs. About 112 of those agreements were ended specifically because of the contractors’ actual or anticipated poor performance.

In addition, the audit said many reconstruction projects were being described as complete or otherwise successful when they were not. In one case, the U.S. Agency for International Development contracted with Bechtel Corp. in 2004 to construct a $50 million children’s hospital in Basra, only to “essentially terminate” the project in 2006 because of monthslong delays.

But rather than terminate the project, U.S. officials modified the contract to change the scope of the work. As a result, a U.S. database of Iraq reconstruction contracts shows the project as complete “when in fact the hospital was only 35 percent complete when work was stopped,” said investigators in describing the practice of “descoping” as frequent.

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By DennisD, April 29 at 6:17 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

More Corporate Welfare Redux

Jeff,

The key words in this little story are “at least” 855 contracts. Fact is the GAO doesn’t know how many more than the 855 projects they’ve “verified” haven’t been completed.

Whether the project was fully completed or not you can bet the contractor was fully paid as if it was.

You didn’t mention if you got paid for the ten wells you contracted for or just the eight you completed.

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By american 3rd eye, April 29 at 4:11 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

47,321 bs projects all in the green zone!!!

I would like to see examples of these so-called 47,000 projects. Please do not blame the press for lack of coverage. If in fact there were that many projects, I as a taxpayer would like to see them. Apparently, the BuSh administration does not have any confidence in displaying these so-called completed projects for the public to see and, therefore, establish some iota of confidence in this American made disaster. Don’t get so lost in what has not been built. Let’s see what HAS been built and I would bet that the completed ones are substandard and nothing worth what has been spent. LMAO at our stupid president and all those who believed and still believe in his disaster in Iraq. We, as a nation, have yet to pay for this shameful act against humanity. The chickens will come home to roost on this one. LMAO!!!!

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By Jonathon2012, April 28 at 7:28 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Descope my Ass

So where is all our money going?  I’m sure they’d rather use the money to build more bombs with so they can accidentally bomb more civilians and send them to the hospital that was 35% complete.  Meanwhile we keep borrowing money from Communist countries.

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By BobZ, April 28 at 7:22 pm #
(88 comments total)

Not surprising - Massive incompetence and corruption at

The postwar occupation of Iraq and the response to Hurricane Katrina are the twin monuments to the degree of incompetence in the Bush Administration. It is hard to envisage any president coming close to the Bush debacles. Nice legacy to leave! In Iraq we lost track of 8 billion in cash and coincidently an increase of Iraqi’s living in expensive apartments in Paris. Now we have the projects that never got finished - this was covered in several earlier books documenting our failures at reconstruction and now further evidence is in. Well we now know why George H.W. Bush never wanted to invade Iraq - he knew something his son didn’t. The sooner we can extricate ourselves from this mess the better. Iraq will need to resolve their own internal disputes without our involvement. We are just adding to the problem at this point.

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By Frostedflakes, April 28 at 1:46 pm #
(79 comments total)

This is ONE of the reasons why the “ Shrub “ and “ Vader “ should be tried at Hague.

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By Jeff, April 28 at 2:03 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Re:

Because 855 out 47,321 construction project didn’t get completed as planned?  What’s the crime?

When I was in Afghanistan, I was in charge of a project to build 10 wells at a refuge camp.  We only completed eight or them due to previously unknown ground-water conditions.  Should I be packing my bags for a trip to the Hague?

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By boggs, April 28 at 1:08 pm #
(194 comments total)

Sewage in the Walls

Jeff, I didn’t find the article so dumb!
I have read a number of books on the corruption taking place in Iraq. By Bush buddies who are suddenly contractors.
The first thing Bush did upon taking up residence in the whitehouse was fit his pockets (and those of his cronies) with funnels from the mint warehouse direct into their pockets.
Like his Grandad made fortunes off Hitler, W will make fortunes off Iraq war.

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By Jeff, April 28 at 1:24 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

I am not saying that there is no corruption going on in Iraq.  I am saying that a descoping or incompletion rate of 1.6% doesn’t even come close to indicating corruption.  If the author wants to show corruption, then use examples that actually indicate it.  This is just an author trying to spin some numbers in order to get people worked up.

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By TDoff, April 28 at 11:00 am #
(203 comments total)

What a great idea!

It’s time to stamp the Iraq war ‘WON’, and get the f**k out before we lose more of our a**.

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By Thomas Billis, April 28 at 9:05 am #
(238 comments total)

McCain Answers

The only place McCain does not want cut spending is in Iraq where the most money is being wasted.Losing your home.Toughen up.No health care.Survival of the fittest.Social Security not there.No reason you cannot work until eighty.Iraq rathole of cash.Where do I sign.

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By Jeff, April 28 at 7:38 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

This is just a dumb article.  Truthdig trying to dig where nothing exists, and the haters jumping on the bandwagon.  Consider the numbers: 47,321 total project; 855 terminated or descoped (112 for contractor underperformance); that leaves 743 for “unforeseen factors such as violence and excessive costs”.  That means that there is a 98.4% completion rate on these projects.  That’s a pretty good rate anywhere, but in a place like Iraq, that is downright amazing.

DennisD:  “Most if not all of these “projects” were never meant to be completed”.  Huh?  They didn’t complete 1.6% of the projects.  I don’t know where you learned math, but I’m pretty sure that 1.6% does not constitute “most if not all”.

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By P. T., April 28 at 6:54 am #
(774 comments total)

Hard to find good Republican contractors

. . . these days.

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By DennisD, April 28 at 5:40 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

More Corporate Welfare

Most if not all of these “projects” were never meant to be completed. They were and are an excuse to bleed the U.S. taxpayers dry.

Of course the only thing the contractors have to worry about is finding the right offshore bank to stash their loot in to avoid any taxes.

Where is the MSM with this story. Oh yeh, they’re chasing Rev. Wright around covering his speeches and any other insignificant story they can find.

America - best government money can buy.

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