ARTICLE: “The Civilian Shortage: Rebuilding Iraq has been hindered by federal agency turf wars and a tight purse,” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post National Weekly Edition, 5-11 March 2007, p. 9.
The lack of real experts is killing us in Iraq and Afghanistan. This stuff isn’t rocket science, but it isn’t send-whoever’s-available either.
Almost four years after the United States set about trying to rebuild Iraq, the job remains overwhelmingly unfinished. The provincial reconstruction teams like those in Diyala are often understaffed and underqualified--and almost unable to work outside the military outposts where they are hunkered down for security reasons. Today, there are just 10 of the 30-person teams operating in all of Iraq.
Bush asked to double the PRT effort. Turf wars among agencies have thwarted that call.
You want to end that? Carve out some turf.
And no, Lugar’s plan for generating the bodies in some program won’t be enough, just as the State Department Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization wasn’t enough. Making this effort some bastard child of an existing agency that’s forced to beg for bodies from all the rest is not going to work. Creating a real bureaucratic center of gravity is required, and if we’re smart, we’ll take advantage of what I hope the HELP Commission will recommend and start building that cabinet-level Department of Everything Else around a USAID freed from the stifling and completely useless grip of the State Department.
With its own department, at least we could suck Congress into the responsibility of funding the peace in addition to the war. Instead of blaming all the postwar incompetence on DoD, a department neither designed nor given to such tasks, our political system would collectively and transparently deal with this enduring and enlarging challenge (failed states).
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Comments (2)
I would like to be the first to share this article in the New York Times titled Iran Is Playing a Growing Role in Iraq Economy
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/world/middleeast/17iran.html?ex=1331784000&en=73c56b39f555e521&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
This is an example of free markets at work. Free markets have an important role in rebuilding and stabilizing the region. A careful read of this article advises that both Iran and Iraq are profiting within their means to produce. Countries with economic interdependence are less inclined to go to war. A stable Iraq becomes important to the economic interests of Iran. The economic interests and threats to those interests may be the best tool to bring peace to the Middle East. Now, if we can just get Syria to build air conditioners…
Posted by Al Alborn | March 17, 2007 8:09 AM
What pain?
It doesn't seem to me that any of the permanent Washington government is feeling any pain whatsoever. In fact, as the conviction of Scooter Libby for an act that everybody agrees was committed by Richard Armitage demonstrates, the permanent government is well on its way to ridding itself of the irritant of Bush Administration interference in their private agendas.
Pervez Musharref has the same problem with the ISI except that they are more obvious when they work to thwart him with car bombs and assassination attempts. The armies of Civil Service protected Washingtonians don't feel any pain now and they are unlikely to feel any pain when Democrats take over in January 2009.
Posted by Mark in Texas | March 17, 2007 9:44 AM