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November 30, 2004

Inept

Despite the best efforts of the Bush Team (and their apologists) to put a happy face on the situation in Iraq, it's pretty tough to paint lipstick on this pig. November has not been kind to the US troops, the people of Iraq or the American Treasury.

Iraq's Oil Ministry is reporting that Iraq is losing $7 billion in potential revenues as a result of sabotage to the oil infrastructure:

An estimated 20 oil wells and pipelines were bombed or set abalze this month in northern Iraq alone, according to an official of the Northern Company. Iraq has oilfields in the north around Kirkuk and in the south near Basra.

Iraq's security crisis and its long, porous land borders left the country's petroleum industry with no effective protection against saboteurs — either Saddam loyalists or tribesmen competing for jobs with the British security firm Erinys International, which has a contract to secure oil wells and pipelines.

Maj. Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin, chief of the Iraqi National Guardsmen in Kirkuk, said that Erinys hires tribes to guard oil installations. For guarding pipelines, he said the going rate is $1,100 per mile secured.

"The tribes are fighting over who wins the largest number of contracts," Amin said, adding that the losers "blow up the pipelines and oil wells in retaliation."

Tribesmen who own land through which the pipelines pass sometimes break them to steal oil for sale.

Brilliant, eh? Looks like Iraq won't be paying for itself any time soon. So who foots the bill? The American Treasury.

The perennial idiots at Halliburton are contributing to the mess as well. According to an investigation for Congress, Halliburton cannot account for a third or more of the government property it's being paid to manage in Iraq.

At least 135 US troops died in Iraq in the month of November.

Medact (a British based charity) is reporting that Iraq's health care system is in crisis.

Iraq's "Green Zone" (the highest security zone in the country) has proven it isn't impervious to attack.

I realize that Bush voters get pissy when they're called "stupid". But frankly they need to get over it. They reelected this clown and his cohorts. Iraq has been mismanaged by these idiots from the word go. And not just a little bit.

Posted by Carla at November 30, 2004 10:07 AM