Democracy comes at a price ....

An Unkept Promise in Iraq NYT April 17, 2006

2 years ago, the US government made a promise to build 142 health clinics in Iraq, bringing basic care to underserved areas outside the big cities. That would save innocent Iraqi lives, and build good will for the US where it has grown dangerously scarce.

A generous cost-plus contract was awarded to Parsons Inc., an American construction firm, to do the work, supervised by the Army Corps of Engineers.

With roughly $200 million already spent and which will run out in less than 9 months, it appears extremely unlikely that most of those clinics will ever be built. The Washington Post reported earlier this month, the Army Corps of Engineers predicts that no more than 20 clinics will actually be completed — out of 142.

The Good news for the Iraqis desperate for decent health care is ......The office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction is looking into it.

Whoooooooop de doooo!!!!

James F. McNulty was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Parsons in January 1998. Jim retired from the Army as a Colonel in 1988, joining Parsons that same year.

So you might think this might cause parsons to worry well in February they were pleased to announce to the Pasadena Press (PDF Alert)..

In January , Parsons was awarded a $28 million contract to reconstruct and renovate the Tadji military base and Iraqi Armed Forces recruiting stations.

The contract was awarded through the company's Worldwide Environmental Restoration Contract with the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence.

The Tadji based project - deemed critical to maintaining security in Iraq while its infrastructure is rebuilt - will include building renovation, repair of wastewater treatment plants and installation of sewer lines.

"This work is expected to be finished in June,' Parsons spokeswoman Virginia Baca said. "They need to get this military base and the reconstruction up and running so the Iraqi military can protect their country.'

Hey not bad ... but there's more shareholders ...

That contract comes on the heels of another announced earlier in January from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Parsons Corp. was part of a team awarded a contract for future work in restoring the oil infrastructure in northern Iraq to pre-war production levels.

The contract, valued at $500,000 to as much as $800 million, covers a variety of services including the cleanup and restoration of oil fields, pipelines and refineries.

The two-year agreement also has three one-year options, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

McNulty said he takes pride in his company's work - work that in many cases changes people's lives.

Now that is what I would call a fucking scandal but then Jim obviously has friends in the US Army Corps of Engineers.