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Iraq-Jordan | ||||
Pentagon to Oversee Most Spending in Iraq | ||||
2004-03-08 | ||||
After a power struggle with the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon has won control over most of a $18.4 billion aid package for Iraq, and rebuilding delayed for a month will start this week, U.S. officials in Baghdad said Sunday. Much of the enormous aid package - funded by U.S. taxpayers - will go toward 2,300 construction projects over the next four years. Of these, the State Department will oversee as little as 10 percent. But $4 billion of the aid package has been set aside, and spending authority for those funds is still in discussion.
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Posted by:Steve White |
#2 I think Colin Powell is seeing the handwriting on the wall. He's been an extremely weak and ineffective Secretary of State. His time is up, and he needs to go. We need someone to take over the State Department and do a top-to-bottom house-cleaning. I think Bush hoped to get that done with Powell. It didn't work - Powell's too much a part of the "internationalist" crowd. Unfortunately, Bush will need Rumsfeld in Defense for his second term. The only other person who might be able to get the job done is Rice. I strongly urge President Bush to give her the job after November. If he makes that announcement, expect the flow of careerist state department weenies out the door to be a flood. The State Department has been running US foreign policy since Johnson took over following Kennedy's assasination. It's time they learned who's boss. Condi has the cojones to do it, all kidding aside. We need someone like that at State. |
Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-3-8 10:02:08 AM |
#1 Heh, this must be playing hell with the retirement plans of many hot shots at State. Wanna take bets? I suggest that, 1) if Dubya wins a second term 2) more than a few of the upper and upper-middle level "Foreign Service" types, unhappy with Bushies Boyz, were planning to retire 3) these retiring State people would've feathered their post-State nests by steering the money to NGO's and such that would've welcomed them to the fold upon retirement Wild. Irresponsible. Unfair. Unfounded. Yet. Yeah, right. This is how it's done. Now -- watch the Pentagon's less-than-stellar procurement types for the same behavior. There are good people and bad people everywhere. Percentages vary - based upon the culture of the institution... which reminds me of one of my sayings: Grifters gravitate toward graft. |
Posted by: .com 2004-3-8 1:05:42 AM |