They Sold Iraq Out Just Like They Did America

Any Democrat would have handled Katrina better than any Republican.  When your party's philosophy is based on cutting government aid and selling it to the highest bidder, it should not surprise people when large projects become less manageable -- whether it be prevention, recovery or reconstruction.  Just as many companies profited off Katrina, the same thing has happened in Iraq.

One private consultant in Iraq spells out how so much has been privatized:

Iraq is a country awash with private security companies that haveblossomed in the chaos of the country's post-invasion era. It isestimated that around one half of all development dollars being pouredinto the country (currently in the billions) goes to private security.My organisation, a small NGO working to build the capacity of Iraq'scivil society, was no exception.

Approximately 40 percent of our $60 million budget went to protecting the 15 international staff.

If you can't win a war, at least make sure your friends profit off it.

There is an even larger problem about all this.  When you privatize half of such a huge reconstruction effort, there is less accountability -- especially if a lot of the companies signed on are your campaign contributors.  Who keeps them from overcharging taxpayers?  Who forces them to do the job right?  The link between contract awarding and campaign contributions was quite evident even in the first year of the war.

Contractors even out-number the amount of US troops now in Iraq.