Why the hell is it taking so long to restore basic services? I mean it. IF our goal is to change the ME, then this must be our FIRST priority, above other showy stuff.
As with everything in Iraq, it is not as bad as the media portrays it.
It's hard to repair the grid for good right now when terrorists keep bombing power plants or other sources.
And that's what they do.
Most of the country never had these basic services outside of the Sunni Triangle. Also, it is hard to create infrastructure when you have a significant portion of the population determined to destroy what you build. Think about how easy it would be to knock out power and water to your own city if that was your agenda. Five terrorists with a can of gasoline each could burn down half the country if they wanted to.
Repairing the electrical grid takes time new poles to set and new lines to run. Not all of N O has power back and it is very small area. Also no one is shooting at the guys fixing it in N O.