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9.25.2003
Magic 8-Ball Says: Outlook Not So Good! Online NewsHour: The Cost of War -- September 22, 2003: "RICHARD PERLE: With all due respect, your sojourns in the cities of Iraq are hardly the appropriate measure of how well we have done in restoring electricity and getting water back on track. I don't think -- So being there is not an "appropriate measure" of how things are going in Iraq? Perle's mental powers of telepathy will not be questioned! Of course this explains a few things... "I appreciate people's opinions, but I'm more interested in news," the president said. "And the best way to get the news is from objective sources, and the most objective sources I have are people on my staff who tell me what's happening in the world." Garbage in, Garbage out. How do you know things are going well in Iraq? Well, you ask the recipients of the billions of dollars of reconstruction money. What do they say? "Things are going great but we need more money". Now, Imagine if you will, showing up at the site of your new house that is being built. You've already given the contractor a significant amount of money, but when you show up there is nothing more than a foundation and a few stacks of wood laying around. So you ask. "How are things going?". You get the above answer. Your conclusion is one of a few. a) They lowballed the estimate knowing it would cost more, but did so to win the bid b) They are dragging their feet on your project while they shop for new ones. c) They know that once you're committed they can soak you for all they can. d) They're incompetant but they think you're an idiot. Your best course of action is to bring in a third party that can tell you what the project should cost and what the time frame should be. In Iraq there are couple of things that confuse the issue. Who knows just how much it should cost to rebuild a country? And there is a very heavy security component that adds to the overall cost. But I think its fair that we ask some basic accountability questions. And I think it prudent to assume that if the security concerns arise out of an American presence that a sensible course of action would be to try to minimize our visibility there. But that would mean that the American companies wouldn't reap the benefits of our war there. This would anger Wall Street. We can't have that. So bring on the money! | |
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