Quote:
Originally posted by Gattigap
The WaPo's David Ignatius has some good practical advice for the Bush Administration as a way to keep the Iraqi populace from buying into Sadr's violence, and make them feel that the US and its allies are bringing a better life, including:
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All good advice. I've been baffled by the announced difficulties in getting the electricity going. I know that the reasons mentioned have been (a) sabotage, and (b) a system that was decrepit to start with, and don't doubt that there's some truth to both of these, but does anyone know more about why we haven't been throwing more resources and people at this? Establishing a constant electricity supply to get through a desert summer, even at significant cost, seems like a no-brainer.
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Most of what I've been reading indicates that Iraq basically can't absorb money any faster. (Now Afghanistan might be a different matter - it seems that 200 asphalting crews driving back and forth around the country would do it a world of good.)
You can't build or repair basic infrastructure just by throwing money at it and exercizing willpower. Flying in gennies is irrelevant if you have no working distribution system, local or national (or functional wiring in homes). Hiring lots of people to build public works doesn't get them built over night, particularly when those people, frankly, need months of training to get to the point where they can adequately build the stuff, or if time evaluating various local situations hasn't been taken to determine what works are needed in what order or to plan and design things appropriately.
The fact that a lot of people perceive that as a US failure doesn't mean it is something the US can fix. Though I don't know why they aren't using it as more of an overt bargaining chip (e.g.: "we have $X for Y projects in your district - have your local council invite us in and help plan and implement the projects and turn over all militants in the area so the contractors, site and workers are safe, and you'll get priority for work to begin involving Z local jobs").
