The Political Chase

Crime Prevention

This is not the type of thing I normally (how about never) would post, but…a South African inventor has developed an anti-rape condom. It has sharp barbs in it and can only be removed surgically.

While there may be something to that "ounce of prevention" stuff, it seems to me that it could be used for wrongful purposes.  Think Bobbit.

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Democrats - MIA?

For quite some time, I have been wondering where are the Democrats.  I posed the question after the President’s speech at Jackson Square in New Orleans.  Timothy Naftali takes the Dems to task on being so quiet.

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Mismanaged Reconstruction

The New York Times has a rather lengthy article on the reconstruction of Iraq.  As I read the article, it was easy to draw an analogy to the reconstruction of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast region.  The article highlights the poor planning and corruption associated with the reconstruction, much of which is associated with large American companies.  Parsons Corporation, an American based organization was identified extensively in the article.

Before discussing the salient items of the Times article, I think a brief summary of Parsons Corp. will be helpful.  I did some research on the extent of Parsons Corporation’s involvement in the Iraq project.  I have not researched any of their operations external to Iraq.

Parsons is the primary private contractor for several substantial reconstruction projects, some of which I am surprised the federal government outsourced.  A few are listed below.

• Restore Iraq Oil (RIO) North project
• Reconstruction of military bases
• Infrastructure
• Justice and security

Given the scope of Parsons’ Iraq projects, I decided a graphic would provide a far better perspective than merely putting it into words.  Simply stated, it’s enormous.

The graph is available in two forms, PDF format.  For the GIF image, click on the picture below.

Click to enlarge

The Times, focusing on the city of Najaf, gave numerous reports of delays, corruption, unfinished projects, poor financial accounting, and misplaced priorities.  There are many organizations involved in the reconstruction: The Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Agency for International Development, and private contractors from America and Iraq. Organizations from other countries are surely involved, but they were not noted.

Related to the reconstruction problems, several military officers are quoted as sources of information.

“American military officers and Iraqi officials involved in the reconstruction described a pattern of failures and frustrations that Army officers who have worked in other parts of Iraq say are routine. Residents complain that many of [Najaf’s] critical needs remain unfulfilled and the Army concedes that many projects it has financed are far behind schedule. Officers with the American military say that corruption and poor oversight are largely to blame.”

“We were told to stimulate the economy any way we can, and a lot of money was wasted in the process,” said Capt. Kelly Mims, part of the Army liaison team that maintains an office in Najaf’s local government building. “Now we’re focused on spending the money more wisely.”

The Times notes that allegedly, the military attempted to rectify the problems with revised procedures and policies; that notwithstanding, “American officers say there is almost no oversight after a contractor is given the job.”

“On larger projects, contractors are paid by the month, regardless of how much work is actually done.”

“Penalty clauses for missing deadlines are rare, and some contractors drag out their projects for months, officers say, then demand more money and threaten to walk away if it is not forthcoming.”

“Maj. William Smith, charged with overseeing most of the reconstruction work in the area, walks around the bright blue pipes and yellow tanks of an unfinished water treatment plant outside of town. A control panel with its array of monitoring lights sits baking in the sun beside broken bags of filtering sand. The plant was supposed to be finished in June, but the feed pipe from the river has not even been connected; it was buried unmarked and now has to be relocated.”

“‘ ‘Sometimes, the only way to go is to pay off the contractor and put it out for new bids,’ tthe major said with a weary chuckle.’ “

There are numerous delays, misplaced priorities and items that yield images of New Orleans, present and future:

“[T]he Al Sadr Teaching Hospital, which was caught in last year’s crossfire between coalition forces and fighters loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, son of the grand ayatollah for whom the hospital is named. Mr. Sadr’s fighters used the hospital’s high floors to fire on a coalition base nearby before being driven out.”

“After coalition troops pulled out in July last year, looters moved in, carting away almost anything of value. To refurbish the hospital, the Army hired the Parsons Corporation, a private engineering and construction company that has been awarded a master contract to build and renovate hospitals and health centers throughout the country. It was paid $2 million to lay new linoleum and hang new ceiling tiles in the hospital’s ground floor, drain the flooded basement and fix the central air-conditioning.”

“But the work has not assuaged angry doctors whose first priority is to replace the equipment lost in the looting.”

As stated earlier, Parsons Corporation is specifically cited and associated with producing less than desirable results.

Read the article and reflect upon the reconstruction of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast region.

Remember, Karl Rove the politician is in charge of the Katrina reconstruction project, not a major project manager, manger of logistics and operations, etc.