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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Iraq reconstruction

Iraq reconstruction stories: 13 news summaries

 US Fears $53B 
 in Iraq Reconstruction 
 Will Go to Ruin 

Projects from power plants to hospitals are at risk of sitting idle

11 hours, 31 minutes ago
(Newser) - As the American troop withdrawal nears, US officials fear the $53 billion taxpayers have spent since 2003 to rebuild Iraq will be squandered. Facilities from power plants and water treatment facilities to schools and hospitals are at risk of being neglected or abandoned for lack of funding or expertise, the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • US military • troop withdrawal • Iraq reconstruction

Economic
Woes Threaten
Iraq's Stability

Declining oil prices
and aid cancel urgently needed rebuilding

Feb 26, 09 7:56 AM CST
(Newser) - Countries around the world are suffering budget shortfalls and declining exports, but few nations have seen as calamitous a fall in revenues as Iraq. As oil prices have plummeted and American financial support has dried up, Iraq is canceling projects and struggling to pay government employees. As the New York ... More »

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Iraq • oil • Iraqi Parliament • recession • Iraq reconstruction • economic downturn

(Newser) - The United States' poor track record on rebuilding Iraq has long been chalked up to lousy planning by Pentagon brass. But an expanding investigation by federal authorities adds another element to the mix: possible corruption by the military commanders who oversaw reconstruction in the Wild West days after the invasion,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • contractors • bribery • US military • Iraq contractors • Iraq reconstruction • graft • post-war reconstruction

(Newser) - Hostile Pentagon planners and government turf wars have hobbled US attempts to rebuild Iraq, which failed to improve facilities since the days of Saddam Hussein, a searing federal report says. The unpublished history adds that when efforts lagged, the Pentagon publicly lied about them. Led by a Republican lawyer, the... More »

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Pentagon • Donald Rumsfeld • Iraq reconstruction

 Iraq Has $79B Budget Surplus 

GAO says Bagdad sitting on a lot of money, raising complaints from US senators

Aug 5, 08 7:45 PM CDT
(AP) - The Iraqi government could end this year with as much as a $79 billion cumulative budget surplus, based largely on ever-increasing oil revenues, US congressional auditors say. A report by the Government Accountability Office made public today prompted renewed calls from senators that Baghdad pay more of the bill for... More »

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Iraq • John Warner • GAO • Carl Levin • Iraq reconstruction • Iraq war spending

Foreign Companies Cash In on Stable Iraq

Baghdad aggressively courts international investment

Jul 22, 08 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - With security and stability on the rise, Iraq’s government is turning its attention, and its generous budget, toward reconstruction. That’s led to some big opportunities for Western businesses, which are scrambling to get a cut of the country’s $25 billion reconstruction budget. Iraq, which lacks the resources... More »

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Iraq • foreign investment • Iraq government • infrastructure • Iraq contractors • Iraq reconstruction

Iraq to Net Record
$70B Oil Windfall

Congress calls for aid cuts after revenue forecast doubles

Apr 30, 08 2:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - US analysts estimate that record-breaking oil prices and a fall in insurgent attacks on pipelines will boost Iraq oil revenue this year to $70 billion—double earlier estimates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The latest figure has sparked a call among US lawmakers to demand that Iraq pay more of... More »

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Iraq • Iraq oil • oil price • oil production • Iraq reconstruction

commentary

Army's Role in Iraq Turning Personal

Troops 'all but qualify for Iraqi citizenship,'
for better or worse

Apr 1, 08 11:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - After five years of war, the US military is enmeshed in virtually all aspects of Iraqi life—a common development in such engagements but one that can prove to be a double-edged sword for military efficiency, writes Lawrence Kaplan in the policy forum Bitter Lemons. "American units slowly melt... More »

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Iraq • Iraq pullout • US military • surge • tribal leaders • Vietnam War • Iraq reconstruction

 Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive 

President scolds Congress' calls for withdrawal

Mar 27, 08 4:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush praised the government of Iraq today for the offensive launched three days ago against militias in Basra, painting it as a sign of progress toward the goals of the US war, the AP reports. Bush also criticized Congress for calling for troop withdrawals so the military’s attention... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Bush administration • Mahdi Army • Nouri al-Maliki • Iraq pullout • Basra • Iraq government • Iraq Civil War • Iraq reconstruction • Iraq mess • Muqtada al-Sadr • Iraq war • Iraq exit strategy • George W. Bush

Oil-Rich Iraq Should Fund Reconstruction, Say Senators

US taxpayers are footing bill instead

Mar 9, 08 2:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - Why isn't an Iraq that's rolling in oil dollars funding its own reconstruction? senators Carl Levin of Michigan and John Warner of Virginia want to know. The Armed Services' Committee honchos wrote the Government Accountability Office saying Iraq is doing little to help itself despite a projected $100 billion in... More »

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Congress • oil • John Warner • Carl Levin • oil price • Iraq reconstruction • senator • Iraq war • Iraq war spending

 A Taste of China 
 Opens in Baghdad 

War-torn city gets its first taste of dumplings in Karrada restaurant

Jan 18, 08 6:00 PM CST
(Newser) - The central Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada has seen its share of brutal changes over the past few years, but saw a sign of life in January, when a Chinese restaurant opened its doors, reports Middle East Online. "Like security in Baghdad, it will get better," said one... More »

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Iraq • food • Baghdad • Iraq reconstruction • Chinese food

US Troops Rebuild With Old Enemies
in Iraq

'Hard pill to swallow,' Marine says

Dec 30, 07 5:23 PM CST
(Newser) - Capt. Sean Miller keeps up an easy calm as he helps manage rebuilding efforts in Anbar province these days. But when an Iraqi contractor claimed he was promised money to bury Saddam's solders, the 32-year-old Marine captain lost it. "Those guys were trying to kill me,” Miller said.... More »

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US troops • soldier • Anbar • rebuild • Iraq reconstruction • Marine

Iraq Watchdog
Gets His
Own Probe

Charges of inflated OT, email snooping and hexes by wiccan deputy

Dec 14, 07 6:42 AM CST
(Newser) - The tables have turned on the federal watchdog who has spent the past four years investigating waste and fraud in Iraq—he's now the target of an FBI probe of his own alleged overspending and mismanagement. Former employees claim that Inspector General Stuart Brown paid some employees inflated six-figure overtime,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • FBI • fraud • Stuart Bowen • Iraq reconstruction • Ginger Cruz

13 Stories


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