OxBlog

Friday, May 09, 2003

# Posted 9:05 PM by Ariel David Adesnik  

HOW'S THE RECONSTRUCTION GOING? I've got no idea. This front-page story in the WaPo says everything is a mess. Another front-pager on Tuesday said the same thing, specifically about southern Iraq. Columnist David Ignatius says that "Postwar reconstruction is pretty much where it was a month ago, as Baghdad was falling -- which is to say, nowhere."

On the other hand, Jay Garner (cited in the WaPo) announced at a press conference that More than half of Baghdad's police force is back on the job, 30 percent of the capital's schools are open and all 12 major hospitals are functioning, he said. About 50 percent of Baghdad's electricity demands are being met, he added, while Basra, the country's second-largest city, has 24-hour-a-day power for the first time in 12 years.In spite of its intense criticism of Garner, the WaPo article doesn't provide any reason to think that Garner's statistics are off-base. It also reports that "predictions of starvation and epidemics have failed to materialize." Not bad.

What might be bad is that Ba'ath party members are returning to high-level positions in the interim government. American officials seem to be doing their best to keep out anyone who committed human rights violations, but I'd prefer to see some indications that the US is getting ready for a comprhensive de-Ba'athification process.

What's definitely bad is that the administration -- well-known for its obsession with secrecy -- seems unwilling to share any of its plans for Iraq with Congress or the public. This is exactly what frustrates even those of us who think the administration is doing a pretty good job so far. How can you give someone the benefit of the doubt if you know they will refuse to admit their mistakes?
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