Billions Wasted in Iraq
When President Obama marked the end of combat operations in Iraq in a speech on August 31, 2010, he spoke at length on America’s lasting legacy in the country. Unfortunately for taxpayers, part of that legacy includes billions in waste, dating back to the beginning of the reconstruction effort.
A CBSNews.com article appearing on August 29, 2010 detailed $5 billion in waste associated with the rebuilding effort in Iraq, equivalent to approximately 10 percent of the $53.7 billion spent by the U.S. on reconstruction. This figure includes $165 million for an unused children’s hospital, a $100 million wastewater treatment system in Fallujah that has had little effect on waste disposal in the city, and a $40 million prison that sits empty.
What the $5 billion figure does not include is security costs, which reportedly have run nearly 17 percent for some construction projects. According to the article, “There are success stories. Hundreds of police stations, border forts and government buildings have been built, Iraqi security forces have improved after years of training, and a deepwater port at the southern oil hub of Umm Qasr has been restored.But even completed projects for the most part fell far short of original goals…and the verdict is still out on whether the program reached its goal of generating Iraqi good will toward the United States instead of the insurgents.”
The volatile situation present in Iraq certainly contributed immensely to the waste. The prison cited in the article was located in a region rife with sectarian violence, which delayed construction and increased costs. The U.S. also experienced problems getting the Iraqi government to take ownership of the new facilities. These factors led the U.S. to abandon the project in 2007.
While the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq likely means that the legacy of waste is mostly beyond remedy, U.S. leaders must institute firm methods of oversight to ensure that the lessons learned in the reconstruction effort in Iraq are not repeated in the future.
