An Unending pit of Incompetence and Corruption Your beloved Administration ladies and gentlemen. Remember that $87 Billion...well, we know that less than a quarter of it was actually for development. But "development" apparently means "mercenaries" and further padding the wallets of GOP fatcats. Our primary export appears to the Classic Republican Party -- i.e. the "Guilded Age". Who is the James G. Blaine of Iraq? Seven months after Congress approved the largest foreign aid package in history to rebuild Iraq, less than 5 percent of the $18.4 billion has been spent and occupation officials have begun shifting more than $300 million earmarked for reconstruction projects to administrative and security expenses. ... So far, occupation officials have reassigned $184 million appropriated for drinking-water projects to fund the operations of the U.S. Embassy after the provisional authority is dissolved June 30. An additional $29 million from projects such as "democracy building" were reallocated to fund the U.S. development agency's administrative expenses. And more diversions may be coming. Armitage said the State Department still faces a shortfall of $40 million to $60 million in embassy operating funds this year. And embassy construction and operations could consume as much as $2.5 billion in fiscal 2005, none of which has been requested by President Bush. ... Aides from both parties told CPA officials this week to find the embassy money somewhere else, said Tim Rieser, chief Democratic clerk for the Senate Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee. "Cutting funds from water and sanitation makes no sense," Rieser said. "Potable water is desperately needed in that country." Administration officials said the money was taken from drinking-water projects because such projects have been allocated $2.8 billion through 2005, of which only $14 million has been channeled to projects... USAID spokesman Luke Zahner said the shift of funds from "democracy building," electricity, education and water to agency overhead was a technical adjustment. Limited funds were allocated for operations by Congress because it was unclear last fall which agency would oversee which projects in Iraq, he said. Most of the reallocation is for security, said Lu'ay Eris, deputy president of Baghdad City Council, which he called a reasonable decision. Obviously, security is an important thing. But since we were to be received, according to the Administration as Liberators, this is further evidence they had and still have no idea what the hell they are doing. You cannot fight a goddamned war without a plan. Start praying George.