LAT: Oil Sabotage Threatens Iraq Economy, Rebuilding

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-pipeline18sep18,1,1994099,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines

The sharp rise in attacks on Iraq's oil pipelines in recent weeks has substantially impaired the country's production, dealing a blow to the economy and threatening the struggling reconstruction effort, U.S. and Iraqi officials say.

Insurgents are bombing pipelines and other parts of Iraq's oil infrastructure almost daily, another sign that the country's security situation is deteriorating beyond the control of U.S. military and Iraqi security forces.

U.S. and Iraqi officials said the strikes had reduced average daily oil production by nearly 100,000 barrels, resulting in losses of as much as $1 billion this year.

"The attacks are continuing, and they impose a big penalty" on oil production, said a U.S. official who is involved in the reconstruction effort. "The country has got to get rid of this security problem. It's pervasive, and they have to get over it."

There are no official numbers, but sabotage against Iraq's pipelines and related infrastructure has soared from an average of six attacks a month before the U.S. returned sovereignty to the Iraqis in late June to 19 a month in July and August, according to research by the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a Washington think tank.

[punpirate]

1. And, what happened to that almost...

... $20 billion of taxpayers' money set aside for reconstruction (even if the administration told us Iraqi oil revenues would pay for it).

The last I read, almost none of it had been spent.

As long as there's sewage in the streets and American troops knocking down the doors of people who have been fingered by tortured informants, they're going to keep blowing up pipelines.

Cause and effect....

[aquart]

2. Gosh, who would have predicted that?

I mean, aside from me? AND THE WHOLE REST OF THE WORLD.