Reasons not to buy American

In spite of the astronomical amounts of money being spent on Iraq’s reconstruction (i.e. to rebuild what the Americans blew up in the first place) it seems that when it comes to US government contracts, you don’t always get what you pay for

While in previous cases, the administration admitted that certain projects had been abandoned due to various security and maintenance issues, this marks the first instance in which projects that had formerly been deemed successful were no longer functioning.

And in case you’re wondering if this is due to user error:

In all seven cases, the project had previously been inspected and approved as functioning properly, with some of the inspections occurring as recently as six months ago. “Curiously, most of the problems seemed unrelated to sabotage stemming from Iraq’s parlous security situation,” the Times notes, “but instead were the product of poor initial construction, petty looting, a lack of any maintenance and simple neglect.”

What a great endorsement for no bid contracts and capitalism at its zenith? Is it any wonder that Toyota has just surpassed GM as the world’s top car manufacturer?

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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