Iraq funds diverted by violence

WASHINGTON – Billions of dollars earmarked for rebuilding war-torn Iraq have been diverted from reconstruction projects because of insurgent violence and poor planning by the United States, a new report concluded Thursday.

Many reconstruction projects in Iraq won’t be completed because of inadequate planning and underestimated security needs, according to the report.

The assessment by Stuart W. Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, says millions of dollars have had to be diverted from much-needed water, sewerage and electrical projects to help cover the costs of providing security and combating an aggressive insurgency.

“The Iraq insurgency has directly affected the cost of reconstruction projects, increased the cost of materials, and created project delays,” the report says.

In an interactive online forum on Thursday, James Jeffrey, senior adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and coordinator for Iraq policy, said that it was important to put Iraq’s reconstruction in context.

“Rebuilding Iraq’s economy will take considerable effort, but Iraq has already made progress,” he wrote. “… Most of our large infrastructure projects will be completed over the course of 2006, and we will also spend most of the yet undisbursed assistance money (around $8.4 billion of the total) over that period.”

But Bowen’s report highlights reconstruction efforts that in some cases weren’t well-developed, were delayed or were halted altogether to divert money to more pressing areas.

For example, only 49 of 136 projects in the water resources and sanitation area will be finished, according to the report. About 300 of 425 planned electrical projects will be completed, lowering the power-generating goal for the country from 3,400 megawatts to 2,109, according to the report.