If there is going to be
official confirmation that the Bush Administration had insufficiently planned for the post-war period in Iraq, this is it.
The US government had "no comprehensive policy or regulatory guidelines" in place for staffing the management of postwar Iraq, according to the top government watchdog overseeing the country's reconstruction.
The lack of planning had plagued reconstruction since the US-led invasion, and been exacerbated by a "general lack of co-ordination" between US government agencies charged with the rebuilding of Iraq, said Stuart Bowen, the special inspector-general for Iraq reconstruction, in a report released on Sunday.
His 110-page quarterly report, delivered to Congress at the weekend, has underscored how a "reconstruction gap" is emerging that threatens to leave many projects planned by the US on the drawing board.
"Nearly two years ago, the US developed a reconstruction plan that specified a target number of projects that would be executed using the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund.
"That number was revised downward [last year]. Now it appears that the actual number of projects completed will be even lower," Mr Bowen says in his report.
Stuart Bowen is the inspector general in Iraq charged with oversight of the reconstruction spending. The lack of planning for the post-war period in Iraq has been blamed by many for the disorder and slow progress in the reconstruction. More importantly, the unorganized post-war period helped the insurgency get its footing. In retrospect, the administration's biggest mistake in Iraq - after the failure to level with the American people about why we were going to war - was the lack understanding about what was going to happen after the fall of Baghdad. Mr. Bowen is just confirming what has been clear since "Mission Accomplished."
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