Tens of billions of dollars have flowed into Iraq to boost reconstruction efforts. Although the mainstream media tends to make it seem as though the effort in Iraq is a futile one, the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers paints a different picture. Let’s take a look at some of the setbacks and successes.

The media tends to focus only on the atrocities that occur on a daily basis in Baghdad, making it seem as though the effort in Iraq is a futile one aimed at simply containing the escalating violence there. Recent statistics from the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, however, offer a different perspective. And while it’s inevitable that engineering projects are sabotaged before they are completed, there is also another factor hindering reconstruction efforts: corruption.

First, some good news that puts the reconstruction efforts into perspective. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division completed 11 reconstruction projects and began 12 new projects from Dec. 1-17, 2006. These were important efforts aimed at three gas and oil-separation plant projects in the Basrah Province, according to the following excerpt:

The $15 million projects replaced looted and missing items; rehabilitated each plant, which included restoring electrical systems; and provided commissioning assistance. These projects will help increase Iraq’s crude oil processing capacity, feed gas required to support liquid petroleum gas, and sustain crude oil flow in pipelines.

“Iraq’s vast oil and natural gas resources promise a prosperous future for the country,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, commander of the Gulf Region Division. “GRD has an end goal of 3 million barrels of crude oil per day. By working with our Iraqi partners, we are confident we will reach this goal and assist in Iraq’s economic recovery.”

Also, as of Dec. 8, 2006, the Department of Defense had 3,446 total planned projects representing a construction cost of $6.77 billion. Beyond question, a lot of progress has been made to restore a certain sense of normalcy to a war-torn region. However, the mind reels at the success that could have been realized had there not been corruption on such a grand scale, as the following news items point out.

Electronic Iraq underscores the fact that “hundreds of health, education and infrastructure projects have been delayed because of corruption and the smuggling of oil.” Education and health projects are the most affected, as hundreds of schools require repair and hospitals are hit by shortages of equipment and medicines, said the Electronic Iraq article.

This according to officials in the Ministry of Reconstruction. Huda Hassan, director at al-Sadr Primary and Secondary School, said his school lacks water and working washrooms. Moreover, some classes had to close “because the ceilings are falling.”

Iraq’s oil sector has lost $15 billion due to smuggling, corruption and a deteriorating security situation. This breaks down to roughly $750 million in oil being smuggled out of the country each month. And while countries such as Iran and Japan are pledging large sums of money to boost reconstruction efforts in Iraq, it’s clearly not nearly enough to offset the wide-scale corruption taking place.

Still, this type of unwavering support from the international community speaks volumes about the belief that Iraq’s infrastructure will one day return to normalcy.

It also bolsters the ambitious engineering efforts.

This week, for example, The New York Times reports that big plans to build an “American-style university” are underway in Iraq. If the university does become a reality, it will not be built in Baghdad:

Instead, it is slated for what is the most non-Iraqi part of Iraq. The site is on a windswept hilltop along the outskirts of Sulaimaniya, the eastern capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, 150 miles north of Baghdad and far from the car bombs and death squads that are tearing apart the Arab regions of Iraq. Because of its relative safety so far, Kurdistan can more easily attract aid and reconstruction money.

The NYT raises another interesting point:

With doctors, engineers, businesspeople, academics and students among the hundreds of thousands fleeing to neighboring countries or the West, the university raises hopes of stanching the country’s enormous brain drain and pushing Iraq forward.

Despite insurmountable odds and enormous setbacks, it would appear that there is, in fact, hope to not only get Iraq’s infrastructure intact, but to also begin work on attracting and retaining talent, especially in the engineering community.

Earlier:

Engineering Iraq’s Reconstruction

Engineers Race Heat to Rebuild Iraqi Power Grid

Resources

Construction Rollup: Project Starts, Completions
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division, Dec. 18, 2006

Iran, $1bn Iraq reconstruction loan
AME Info FZ LLC, Dec. 31, 2006

Japan pledges to continue support for Iraqi reconstruction
The Associated Press (via The Hindu), Dec. 30, 2006

An American University for Iraq but Not in Baghdad
by Edward Wong
The New York Times, Jan. 3, 2007