The Foreign Service Journal, March 2006

Iraq Reconstruction: Fiscal and Political Realities Recently, two reports based on audits of the Iraq reconstruction process have been released — one by the Government Accountability Office, and one by the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Both reports, pre- sented to the Senate Foreign Rela- tions Committee on Feb. 8, evaluate the progress of the reconstruction effort and identify challenges ahead. The GAO’s “Rebuilding Iraq: Sta- bilization, Reconstruction and Finan- cing Challenges,” based on four re- ports issued to Congress since July 2005 and additional audit work con- ducted in late 2005 and early 2006, was presented by GAO Director of International Affairs and Trade Joseph A. Christoff ( http://www.gao.gov/ new.items/d06428t.pdf ). Special Inspector General for Iraq Recon- struction Stuart W. Bowen Jr. present- ed the latest quarterly statement by his office, documenting SIGIR’s accom- plishments (especially in the area of investigation financial oversight), the progress of rebuilding efforts and the challenges the program faces ( http:// www.sigir.mil/reports/Quarterly Reports/Jan06/pdf/Report_-_ January_2006.pdf ). The GAO expresses its concern over three main issues related to the reconstruction of Iraq: the correlation between the deteriorating security sit- uation and rising costs, the lack of information regarding various projects (leading to reduced accountability), and the instability of Iraq’s infrastruc- ture. In addition, the GAO analyzes the financial difficulties faced by the fledgling Iraqi government. It is esti- mated that Iraq will require more for reconstruction from 2004 to 2007 than the $56 billion estimated by several agencies, including the World Bank, the United Nations and the Coalition Provincial Authority. The GAO conclusions are also based on earlier public reports of the progress in rebuilding Iraq’s infra- structure, efforts in the water and san- itation sector, assistance for the January 2005 elections and a classified report on U.S. efforts to stabilize the security situation in Iraq. The SIGIR report points out that although electricity, oil and gas, and water projects completed in the last 18 months have delivered expected out- puts, they have not enabled the overall Iraqi infrastructure to meet current demand. In many cases, services are still not up to pre-war levels. Now the reconstruction effort in Iraq is entering a transition phase, states Special Investigator Bowen, as Site of the Month: http://earth.google.com Do detailed, constantly updated maps interest you? If so, you’ll want to take a look at Google Earth , a software program that allows users to peruse high-res- olution satellite and aerial images of various locations around the world. It is possible to view many cities in spectacular detail (down to individual buildings), from various angles and levels of magnification. For certain cities of the United States, it is even possible to superimpose three-dimensional models of major buildings onto the map. While Google Earth may be entertaining, it can be a useful resource as well. Users can search for addresses and driving directions between them for loca- tions in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Although this feature is not yet available for other parts of the world, one can assume that it will be, as Google Earth is a work in progress. The program is not without its critics, however, who cite it as another exam- ple of the dangers of dual-use technology, fearing its potential use by hostile actors for intelligence-gathering purposes. At this writing, complete high-resolution images of urban areas are only available for cities in Western Europe and North America. While Berlin is depicted with stunning clarity and detail, for example, a similar search for St. Petersburg only brings up a half-complete image of the city. But the software and the images are updated on a regular basis, and Google claims that all of the images have been taken within the past three years. Google Earth is available in three versions — the first and simplest is free; the latter two have more features — and is designed to run on moderate sys- tem requirements. — Shawn Guan, Editorial Intern 10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 6 C YBERNOTES