h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

American tax dollars at work:

This comes from a blogger in Baghdad - http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2003_08_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#106208201838841818

"Listen to this little anecdote. One of my cousins works in a prominent engineering company in Baghdad- we’ll call the company H. This company is well-known for designing and building bridges all over Iraq. My cousin, a structural engineer, is a bridge freak. He spends hours talking about pillars and trusses and steel structures to anyone who’ll listen.

"As May was drawing to a close, his manager told him that someone from the CPA wanted the company to estimate the building costs of replacing the New Diyala Bridge on the South East end of Baghdad. He got his team together, they went out and assessed the damage, decided it wasn’t too extensive, but it would be costly. They did the necessary tests and analyses (mumblings about soil composition and water depth, expansion joints and girders) and came up with a number they tentatively put forward- $300,000. This included new plans and designs, raw materials (quite cheap in Iraq), labor, contractors, travel expenses, etc.

"Let’s pretend my cousin is a dolt. Let’s pretend he hasn’t been working with bridges for over 17 years. Let’s pretend he didn’t work on replacing at least 20 of the 133 bridges damaged during the first Gulf War. Let’s pretend he’s wrong and the cost of rebuilding this bridge is four times the number they estimated- let’s pretend it will actually cost $1,200,000. Let’s just use our imagination.

"A week later, the New Diyala Bridge contract was given to an American company. This particular company estimated the cost of rebuilding the bridge would be around- brace yourselves- $50,000,000 !!"

Perhaps there should be a new multi-national company with a snappy new name....


"Nest feathering.Inc"

zdt

*disgusted*

Disgusted also.

We all knew that this would happen though didn't we? It was obvious at the time what the US admin was up to when they claimed the 'right to rebuild Iraq'.

To enable these companies to build a new financial base for themselves in the Middle East my suspicions are that anything that needs rebuilt will be done so with the aid of a blank cheque, this moves any finance away from the US soil and into the economy of the companies rebuilding the country making them Bush's grateful friends and providing a secure base from which to expand into other areas of the Middle East once Iraq has had its make-over.

I will look for a link to the inflated gas prices 2.50 galllon that Hal is charging the Iraqis.

Cannot do it now later.....