Posted on 03/02/2007 6:42:36 PM PST by blam
US asks us to pick up litter while city is in ruins – mayor of Baghdad
By Damien McElroy in Baghdad
Last Updated: 2:02am GMT 03/03/2007
Women walk past US and Iraqi soldiers on a joint patrol in a commercial district in Baghdad
Baghdad's mayor lashed out at the United States yesterday – for spending huge sums on projects to collect rubbish and plant trees while his devastated war-torn city struggles without electricity.
At a meeting in the city's Green Zone the mayor, Sabir al-Isawi, interrupted US officials in the middle of a presentation to key Iraqi officials, to say these schemes are "not what the people want".
He was echoing the feelings of many critics of America's priorities since Baghdad's infrastructure was all but destroyed since the US-led invasion in 2003.
On average, residents get only two hours of electricity a day, and are bitterly angry that the world's most powerful nation has not delivered a single major power plant in four years of occupation.
And hours after yesterday's presentation a high-ranking US official admitted that, despite spending $22 billion on reconstruction across Iraq, the Americans didn't expect Baghdad to have a 24-hour electricity supply until 2013.
At the meeting, Mr al-Isawi said: "I'm sorry to say that there are more important projects that are required by the city. There are essential services required by each district in the city that could be met by building power plants and bridges."
He criticised the US-driven projects because they were "overlapping and so badly planned, that the workers hired are ineffective".
The American project is part of a wider scheme to provide employment for Baghdad youths who might otherwise fall into the grip of insurgent groups still bringing daily chaos and bloodshed to Iraq.
Troop commanders have identified scores of projects, including planting trees, refitting health clinics, rebuilding dilapidated schools, plus establishing a functioning water and sewage system in the capital.
Baghdad has dire problems with domestic waste. Each district of the city has a so-called "Trash Street" where the local residents dump their rubbish.
The mayor himself confirmed that he had ordered seven million refuse bags at a cost of £5 million.
At yesterday's meeting, the US officials welcomed the mayor's input. Brigadier General Vincent Brookes, the deputy commander of multinational forces in Baghdad, said the US would gradually cede control of the work to city officials.
Eric Olsen, a US envoy for Iraqi reconstruction, conceded that the mayor was reflecting a widespread frustration.
But he pleaded with the 12 Iraqi officials present to propose new public works that would meet local needs. "Within a couple of weeks, I hope that it will be Iraqis in here deciding on projects that make a difference to their own future."
Yet, hours after the meeting, Mr Olsen's boss, Joseph Saloom, made the shock admission that the city is not expected to have a proper electricity supply for another six years at least.
Who wants to bet that they're averaging in homes that don't have any electrical hookups in order to bring down the average?
Here's a guy who has never heard of the Broken Windows Theory.
Look at any picture of an Iraqi city and you will see that their electrical grid is a mishmash of wires that anybody just ties into.
Look Mayor - you and your citizens get off your fat Iraqi asses and start cleaning up your own streets, protecting your own wiring grid, and stop waiting for us to do it.
Where the hell did these lazy bastards come from - New Orleans?
Worked in NYC, can work in Baghdad. FIRST, HONOR YOUR CITY. If you don't do that FIRST, the rest doesn't really matter, now does it?
I can see the "entitlement mentality" is thriving in Iraq; this boob must have been educated somewhere in the U.S., probably in a big Eastern city...
Since terrorists hide IEDs in garbage this is a wise precaution.
Occupation? We haven't "occupied" Iraq for years now. The country was turned back over to the Iraqis. We're just there trying to help them get on their feet. The mayor wants us to take care of them as though they were children. Sorry mayor, we'll gladly help you but you have to help yourselves.
Rudy needs to talk to this guy about the broken window theory that turned NYC around.
There have been a lot of odd priorities, but I can't fault this one. Heaps of roadside trash are a hiding place for roadside bombs. There should be no such heaps. The power, water, and sewer projects can get underway as soon as the folks working them aren't being BLOWN THE HELL UP.
Rudy had it right. Clean up the small stuff, and pretty soon the big stuff is a small problem.
What more do they want? The Iraqi government needs to pick up the slack. Not speaking metaphoracly.
FFFFF-ing ragheads.
BUMP
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.