The massive San Francisco-based engineering company lost 52 of its employees since starting work on reconstructing Iraq in 2003. A Bechtel official apparently accepted some share of blame for the sorry state of Iraq’s infrastructure, calling it “heartbreaking.”

San Francisco Chronicle:

Bechtel Corp. went to Iraq three years ago to help rebuild a nation torn by war. Since then, 52 of its people have been killed and much of its work sabotaged as Iraq dissolved into insurgency and sectarian violence.

Now Bechtel is leaving.

The San Francisco engineering company’s last government contract to rebuild power, water and sewage plants across Iraq expired on Tuesday. Some employees remain to finish the paperwork, but essentially, the company’s job is done.

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