Iraq - DE-construction and EN-richment of US contractors continues

Parsons of Pasadena have been a black hole down which money meant for the Iraq re-construction has disappered in truly fabulous quantities. More details are now available.
T. C. Miller writes in the Los Angeles Times April 29, 2006 of an unbelievable tale of shoddy workmanship, delays, deceit, and overall poor monitoring by the Army corps of engineers.

Lord Patel has visited this scandalous waste twice recently KBR / Parsons / Willbro steal US$220 Mn. from Iraq Reconstruction Project April 26th

Democracy comes at a price .... April 17th

A letter signed by Army corps Brig. Gen. William H. McCoy attempts to deflect blame.

"From the beginning of the [health clinic] project, Parsons failed to meet various contract requirements through numerous significant management and technical shortcomings,"

"They ignored, or failed to respond adequately to, numerous expressions of concern by the government over these issues, and in some cases failed or refused to provide the government with information that would have allowed the government to make decisions to assist Parsons in regaining control over subcontractor performance and cost"

In 2004, Parsons with other partners were competitively awarded contracts potentially worth more than $2 billion to rebuild Iraq's health, justice and oil infrastructures.

In one stretch, Parsons officials had seven different contract officers in a year, creating "organizational turbulence," (Engineeringese for fucking chaos) according to interviews and the draft of the audit.

A "letter of concern" to Parsons in July 2005 resulted eventually after U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad became involved.

Work had fallen so far slipped so far behind that the Army corps decided to cut its losses. In March, the Army corps and Parsons reached a settlement where Parsons agreed to finish 20 health clinics and terminate further work on the contract.

The remaining 120 or so clinics — many of them close to completion — are to be finished once other funding sources are found. The audit estimated that $36 million is needed to complete the work, though others said the real costs might be two or three times higher.

As many as 8 hospital remain unfinished and unfunded now, 17 security forts on the Iranian had no perimeter wall. Beams in the forts were "undersized.A $1.3-million fire station in Ainkawa near Irbil in northern Iraq also has problems, is said not to be structurally sound because of questions about construction quality.

Good news however for makers of US$70 Mn. X-ray machines, ultrasounds and incubators for which Parsons purchased for all the planned clinics.That equipment will be stored in a warehouse.(?)

Meanwhile, the $18.4 billion Congress set aside for Iraq reconstruction is very rapidly running out... and there is less electricty . water and sewage systems than in Saddam's time 3 years ago.