'Marshall Plan' for Iraq Fades

[UpInArms]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-aid15jan15,0,1402940.story?coll=la-home-headlines

BAGHDAD — After more than 2 1/2 years of sputtering reconstruction work, the United States' "Marshall Plan" to rebuild this war-torn country is drawing to a close this year with much of its promise unmet and no plans to extend its funding.

The $18.6 billion approved by Congress in 2003 will be spent by the end of this year, officials here say. Foreign governments have given only a fraction of the billions they pledged two years ago.

<snip>

"We were never intending to rebuild Iraq," McCoy said. "We were providing enough funds to jump-start the reconstruction effort in this country."

<snip>

"If they say they have spent money, where is it?" asked Salah Qaragholi, 30, a barber in the poor neighborhood called Zafraniya. "Where are the projects? The electricity is only four hours a day."

Baghdad's roads are an obstacle course of barriers, potholes and debris. Many government and office buildings are either still gutted or strung with webs of electrical wire connecting to generators that run 12 hours on good days. A brown haze fouls the air and pools of sewage overflow dot the streets.

...more on *Co's failure in Iraq...

looking back to April 14,2003

excerpt:

BROWN: And is that, do we believe, all of it, or some of it American tax dollars, or relatively little of it American tax dollars?

POUND: Well, if the Bush administration gets its way, it will be relatively little. Right now, what you have is the Congress is earmarking $2.4 billion for this first year. Along with that, there is about 1.4 billion to 1.7 billion of seized Iraqi assets that the administration would like to use for this rebuilding program.

<snip>

I know this: that there is concern with this rush that people will get jobs -- or companies will get jobs who might be a problem. For example, last week, Henry Hyde, who is the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, brought in a senior State Department official to talk about the award of a contract to a company called Dynacore, which does security work. Dynacore had a problem in the past in the Balkans in connection with a sex scandal back in '99- 2000. And Henry Hyde's staff wanted assurances, and got assurances, from the State Department that the State Department would carefully monitor the work that Dynacore does Iraq.

BROWN: Is there a model out there? Is it accurate to say what we're looking at is the Marshall Plan again, or almost?

POUND: Well, I think what we're looking at is something that's going to cost an awful lot and is the biggest reconstruction effort by this country since the Marshall Plan. Obviously, it's not the same thing. You're not talking about Europe. But, you know, it is -- I can't think of anything else that compares to this in the last 50-60 years, that's for sure.

...more...