tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post6353290023783421784..comments2024-02-29T12:38:32.191-08:00Comments on MUSINGS ON IRAQ: U.S. Reconstruction Projects In Iraq And Afghanistan Going To Waste Because Of Lack Of PlanningJoel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-21657409570447032702011-07-01T22:19:04.290-07:002011-07-01T22:19:04.290-07:00Aymenn I have never written on the MEK. Iran does ...Aymenn I have never written on the MEK. Iran does want them gone, many Iraqi politicians don't care about them and some are openly hostile to them. They have provided some key intelligence to the U.S. on Iran. On the other hand, in the 1970s they attacked and killed U.S. military personnel who were working with the Iranian military under the Shah. Again, if Iran was so powerful in Iraq, then Baghdad would have shut down this camp years ago, and yet there it still is.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-11892992949024885242011-07-01T16:17:18.281-07:002011-07-01T16:17:18.281-07:00Thanks for that Joel. Perhaps what Pipes means in ...Thanks for that Joel. Perhaps what Pipes means in describing the likes of Jalal Talabani as Washington's 'kept politicians' is that undoubtedly some U.S. aid ends up in their pockets through corruption. Incidentally, as you may remember from my article 'Iraq and the Middle Eastern Cold War', I used to be prone to seeing too much of what goes on in my homeland through external forces (i.e. American influence, Iraq as Iranian 'satrap' etc.), but as you say, the most important issues are the power struggles and personal rivalries between Iraq's politicians. <br /><br />On related note, I had wanted to ask whether you have written anything vis-à-vis the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq stationed in Iraq. Pipes sees this as a sign of Iranian influence on the country at http://www.danielpipes.org/9790/iraq-province-of-iran. I disagree with this of course at http://www.hudson-ny.org/2047/mujahideen-e-khalq.<br /><br />More specifically, I wonder if you have any thoughts on this exchange at http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/185135. If you have any important source material, may I forward it to Pipes?Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamiminoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-16401285027708864202011-07-01T14:59:37.478-07:002011-07-01T14:59:37.478-07:00Aymenn I definitely think that the Americans got a...Aymenn I definitely think that the Americans got a little "Emerald City" when they built the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. It seemed like they wanted all the amenities of a resort even though it's supposed to be a diplomatic office in a war torn country. <br /><br />As for its symbolism, I think there are plenty of Iraqis that look at it as a sign of American power, which it's supposed to be anyway. There are probably lots of people outside Iraq who were opposed to the war who see it the same way. I tend to just see it as a wreck, and a perfect symbol of things that the U.S. did wrong trying to rebuild Iraq. <br /><br />As for Pipes' idea that Iraq's politicians are in America's pocket, I see no evidence of that. If the on-going dispute over finishing off the government shows anything it's that Iraq's political class are driven by bitter personal rivalries dating back decades. If they were in America's pocket they would've completed the government months ago and given the U.S. a green light to maintain troops past 2011, and that simply hasn't happened yet.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-3506571772253630092011-07-01T13:24:42.521-07:002011-07-01T13:24:42.521-07:00"The Commission’s overall recommendation was ..."The Commission’s overall recommendation was that the United States needed to think about the countries they hoped to rebuild, and not just their own priorities."<br /><br />Well, even with regards to the United States' own priorities it cannot seem to get things right. Consider the gargantuan U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad. It's only a little smaller than Vatican City, and with a cinema, restaurants, schools, fire station, sports grounds etc., its budget comes to around $1.5 billion a year. Moreover, as Washington Post notes:<br /><br />"The first signs of trouble … emerged when the kitchen staff tried to cook the inaugural meal in the new guard base on May 15[, 2007]. Some appliances did not work. Workers began to get electric shocks. Then a burning smell enveloped the kitchen as the wiring began to melt. … the electrical meltdown was just the first problem in a series of construction mistakes that soon left the base uninhabitable, including wiring problems, fuel leaks and noxious fumes in the sleeping trailers."<br /><br />(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401685_pf.html).<br /><br />Not only does its ill-thought-out, massive size lead to these construction problems, it also has an aggressive location on appropriated land in the Green Zone.<br /><br />So Joel, two questions arise:<br /><br />1. Would you agree that the embassy "is seen by Iraqis as an indication of who actually exercises power in their country" (ICG) and implies some form of "permanent American rule" in Iraq (Daniel Pipes)?<br /><br />2. Given Iraqi politicians' praise for this giant complex, would you agree with Pipes' description of Iraq's political figures as "America's kept politicians" in the country?Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamiminoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-8671663087649331982011-07-01T11:46:19.054-07:002011-07-01T11:46:19.054-07:00Look, with regard to the hospitals, they could be ...Look, with regard to the hospitals, they could be operated, but the Ministry of Health is so corrupt and stupid they won't be. The Minister recently said he'd never approve a license for a private hospital, despite interest in that regard.<br /><br />The Babel hospital, along with the Basra Children's Hospital and the Ibn Sina are begging for contracts that would: (1) bring in foreign medical staff to competently operate the hospital, and (2) train Iraqis alongside the foreign staff so they could one day operate the hospitals on their own.<br /><br />The MOH has been told this. They don't care, because they haven't been able to find an angle in it for them, yet. Public interest is never enough when dealing with the GOI.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com