Iraq Power Grid On Verge Of Collapse
By Logan Murphy Friday Aug 03, 2007 9:03pm
AP Via Yahoo:
Iraq's power grid is on the brink of collapse because of insurgent sabotage of infrastructure, rising demand, fuel shortages and provinces that are unplugging local power stations from the national grid, officials said Saturday.
Electricity Ministry spokesman Aziz al-Shimari said power generation nationally is only meeting half the demand, and there had been four nationwide blackouts over the past two days. The shortages across the country are the worst since the summer of 2003, shortly after the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, he said.
Power supplies in Baghdad have been sporadic all summer and now are down to just a few hours a day, if that. The water supply in the capital has also been severely curtailed by power blackouts and cuts that have affected pumping and filtration stations.
Karbala province south of Baghdad has been without power for three days, causing water mains to go dry in the provincial capital, the Shiite holy city of Karbala.
"We no longer need television documentaries about the Stone Age. We are actually living in it. We are in constant danger because of the filthy water and rotten food we are having," said Hazim Obeid, who sells clothing at a stall in the Karbala market. Read more...
This how we win hearts and minds. Dirty water, rotting food, no electricity, no refrigeration or air conditioning in 130 degree heat and worst of all, no end in sight.
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Well, at least we're not ONLY screwing up America's infrastructure!!!
Disgraceful! Wait for tomorrow's Sunday morning bloviators. Brut Hume will be telling us about all the progress we're making.
Dammit. How long do they need to provide basic services to these people? How long has it been now? Talk about incompetant morons.
If we set off a major oil spill in the Tigris and Euphrates it'd really cap our great accomplishments over the last 4 years. Go USA!
they better get them bridges safe , we,ll be liveing under them soon!
When I read stuff like this, I realize why I should be thankful for the bit that I've been given. Cause comparatively, it's doing me pretty good.
it's like that quote from the book, imperial life in the emerald city, where an iraqi says, "who give a shit about democracy if we don't even have electricity?" way to go, george b, way to fecking go.
Now Bush will say that the surge is successful... well, at least the power surges when an Iraqi tries to use an outlet.
IMPEACH!!
Who cares? Our Democratic House will give anything president Gump asks for. Who cares?
Wow, Iraq has come quite a long way- their infrastructure is finally on par with America's!
is the destruction of capital in iraq a model for what is to happen here? is the subjugation of iraq merely practice for those who would disempower us by severing us from the technology that allowed us to enter the twentieth century. cut off the power, cut off the water and we are a people who will wither quickly. are we in fact better off letting this administration fight "over there" so they're not fighting us here. sorry i'm just speculating wildly but if this administration is actually brilliantly evil rather than ignorant we're going to have a lot trouble with them.
I'm surprised they don't have the best thing going. Dubya has spent all the USA's domestic money over there on something.
I hear you can get a killer deal on rugs...hand made!
oh, and horse/heroin.
"We're going to bomb our way to freedom
firing cruise missiles of justice
count the spent shells of democracy
o say can you see?" - david rovics
they are learning how democracy and capitalism feel when spread with a gun.
when one turns up the water slowly the frog doesn't notice. they threw the frog in the hot pot and it noticed.
I bet the US Embassy has power and water ! To hell with the people of Iraq!
This is serious.
Bush , Cheney, Rumsfeld , Condi will walk away from this.
At the same time Milosivec and other Serb leaders and generals
ended up in court in the Hague ( sorry some are sttill being pursued).
Such is the corruption of Washington politics.
Export American Values to the Middle East to
bring Peace and a Prosperous life to people
living in the Middle East.
This Iraq Crusade is heading to be the number One
screw ups in Histroy. At leaat one of the top three.
I Know . All the WMD's are located around Tikrit
as D. Runsfeld said.
Sure Donald. Do you know where Tikrit is? You must know where Iraq is
as there are photos of you shaking hands with Saddam.
And every one involved will walk .
Greg @ 14:
I heard shopping in Iraq is a wonderful experience!!!
Hey, who said water, electricity and fundamentals of living means surge success? All we know is that "success is not no violence." It's Boosh's cowboy benchmark.
This just means f*ck September , our new deadline is November.
Hey, this is much better than under Saddam. When Saddam was in power, the average Iraqi ate leaves for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there was no electricity, no one could read, and all of the water was filled with camel dung. I think that we've done an excellent job fixing up this country and if you guys could keep giving us trillions of dollars we might be able to get Iraq all the way up to the Bronze Age!
I guess this is what General Petraeus will refer to as "slow progress" when he does his September presentation.
insurgent sabotage of infrastructure
EXCUSE ME??? SAY AGAIN! I happen to remember "Shock and Awe" when against international and US laws civilian infrastructure in Iraq was the primary target. I really think you need to go there to find out why the power grid is failing.
this is some of those improvements bush promised to do and what do you know,
nothing works because his buddies have taken all the money and
DONE NOTHING.
this is new orleans and katrina only on a national scale.
god protect minneapolis, shit-for-brains just arrived and promised some more of his infamous incompetency.
"we can tell ghost stories in the dark"-Ken Pollack
Only Bush could make the Saddam era look like the good old days.
Bush Bites @ 27:
My George Bush & Co. rot in hell.
Geneva Convention? We don't need no stinking Geneva Convention!!! Those E-raks better damn well get that there democracy a goin'. Heck Dickie done said we wuz givin' 'em everything they wanted. Why can't they just be grateful they have the odd food in their stomaches, and a half blown off roof over their heads? Don't they realize we are there to bring 'um freedumbs, and Americana style democracy?
a great problem we have is, all the wmd are here in America and under
shit-for-brains incompetent finger. the entire world is at risk. we should
have bush and cheney put in gitmo as enemy combattants before they
setoff a major world war or just declare martial law here in America.
nirak @ 18:
I'm waiting for the Iraqis--not the insurgents but the ordinary Iraqis--to figure out that the Green Zone is supplied with water, food and electricity (and swimming pools and (I've read) prostitutes too).
Oops! Was that supposed to be a secret?
Iraq is the neo-con's vision for America. It is perfect -- no government services. The invisible hand of the free market will take care of everything, just wait and see. Yeah. Any day now. Some year. Uh huh, Iraq is the perfect lab.
The best stone age money can buy.
People - don't you get it, this is exactly what those who orchestrated this want. They wanted this complete chaos there, just as they were, at the very least, interested to see what would happen if a smaller scale version of this happened after Katrina. Chaos makes the masses give up and/or leave, and the area can then be "locked down" by the fascists. Of all the huge lies told throughout this crusade, the biggest one may be that the fascists want democracy for the people there. BULLSHIT! They want them to leave or die! Huge clue: Cheney was reported to be upset that the Iraqi Parliament would take a vacation at an unexpected time. Now, this guy expresses the OPPOSITE view in public of EVERYTHING that is real. He and his kind are elated that the Iraqi people are showing signs or completely vacating the premises. Once they all go or die - all it is is a great business stop on the way to Dubai, and they will soon be able to stay in Iraq in the comfort of a 1000 room, beautifully manicured Hotel/Shopping Mall for elites that fronts as an Embassy. Take it to the bank, Jack!
I heard the following activists tonight:
Can you spare to stay home from work to make a difference?
http://www.pledgetoimpeach.org/
The only way to stop those who would bleed our nation dry is to say,
"I will not work for you, buy from you, fight for you, or die for
you...anymore."
"Our strategy of a "stay home" strike will keep our people safe in their
own homes, while Congress figures out how to deal with the
empty streets and crowded living rooms of America."
and Dr. Bob Bowman:
Lt. Col, Nuclear & Aeronautic engineer, recipient of numerous peace awards, ran for Congress (FL), 9/11 Scholar for Truth:
http://www.thepatriots.us/index.html
http://www.thepatriots.us/
SCHRODINGER'S CAT @ 19:
Nope, this is yet another war crime and once these foul scum are no longer protected by their holding office they will be hunted down by those who still hold with the rule of law.
The Europeans. And no I'm not kidding. These are war criminals folks and war criminals don't walk. Even if the Democrats would rather not talk about it.
Probably not the best time to ask on a Saturday night, but how many of you have appointments with your congresspersons this month?
hadenuf @ 37:
Not me. Besides, even in the long shot if I got in I know the answer to any of my concerns would be.
"How much can you contribute?"
Dahgrostab'ph-r-i @ 1:
I`m sure you mean well,but your sense of compassion sucks.Our power was off for 8 hrs. last Tuesday,and my neighbors(23 yr.old girls who turned on their AC in May-and it hasn`t been off yet) were bitching and moaning so much that they finally went over to their parents.Sorry,one to parents one to a bar.I have no doubt that they voted for Bush.Can they feel the plight of the Iraqis whom their hero has destroyed their country for greed?Probably not.But they will when they have to start paying a toll to use I-71 or I-75 after Bush gang sells it to a company in Spain or wherever.I wonder if these babes know that their phone it tapped.
Some great country we`ve allowed the fascist pigs to take over.Like Gore Vidal said in an interview I saw recently,"l haven`t heard words like 'Homeland ' since Hitler." Do we have to use a German accent and salute from our chest when we talk about "Homeland Security"?
I cannot take any solace that Bush and his minions have screwed up our infrastructure,too.I only feel sadness for the Iraqis who know and are suffering, and for our fellow citizens who have been swindled by these criminals and have no idea.
How long till we're like Iraq?
(Snip)
The dollar is falling, employment and manufacturing are weakening, new car sales are off for the seventh straight month, consumer spending is down to a paltry 1.3%, and oil is hitting new highs every day as it marches inexorably towards a $100 per barrel.
hadenuf @ 37:
My congressman never acknowledges my e-mails.
But, he almost always votes the right way.
So I just leave him alone.
abarts @ 13:
On fattening Halliburtons dividend checks...
L.A. Confidential @ 40:
It's patenly obvious that the only way corporate globalization will work is not raising the living standards of underdeveloped nations, but of lowering the living standards of industrialized unaware. They're looking for a level playing field, and they have the only level. The lower they make the bar, the more profits that can be diverted to the shareholders assuring their future seat of power. Politics at its most barbaric.
Bush's plan might be working after all. When the electricity and water runs out for good, everyone will have to leave Baghdad. With the city empty, there will be no one left to attack US troops and no more sectarian violence.
So, do ya think this will effect the housing market in Iraq?
This is not only a war crime in and of itself, but it stems from a war crime committed during the first Gulf War, when the U.S. deliberately destroyed water and electricity supplies in Iraq. More here.
According to BBC Weather, the temperature in Baghdad tomorrow will be 113 degrees farenheit. How do you keep food in the house in that kind of heat when your fridge only works a few hours a day?
Losing the power grid was in our Thursday newspaper. When it was reported to Commanders in the Green Zone that Karbala was without electricity and water; the Commanders said that they did not know that. Shades of Katrina.
All of this was exacerbated by ten years of sanctions, followed by Shock and Awe.
nirak @ 18:
Actually, not quite. The newly constructed guard facility for the new embassy is useless because the building is a fire hazard because of the lousy wiring job. The wiring installed is too small for the load.
Oversight was lousy when the embassy was built. It's a fortress from the outside but it has issues with the contractors who have done a half-ass job with parts of it.
A.Citizen @ 36:
Why do you spread the secret man. Only a few know that those who think that the US president is protected by CIA/FBI and basically the protective barrier that is keeping US safe including the armed forces and establishment is placed there, actually there is a certain group, or force if you will, that if need be, will eat CIA for breakfast and send Chimp and Chaney to Hague in no time. But that's just an urban legend. OK, it's not. Or is it? Europe has had many more centuries to study, analyze the problem and establish the "world scale fuck-up" cleaners after all and they have done a perfect job.
These days we're having problems keeping the lights on in Brooklyn, NY, when the weather gets warm.
How can we take care of a country that we're in the middle of that's in the middle of its own Civil War?
Explain that one to me.
Thanks!
~Nyc
(24) Terrible said:
"..I remember “Shock and Awe” ...against international and US laws civilian infrastructure in Iraq was the primary target..."
T,
I have been looking for links to information on how much infrastructure we actually did destroy during S&A. Do you, or anyone, have a link to the information on this as I would really like to have documented proof that we wiped out a lot of Iraq's infrastructure (so we could build back, thereby making money on both ends IMO).
I want to be able to enlighten my friends who say, "Why don't they show the good news out of Iraq, like the schools, power plants, hospitals, bridges, and roads we are rebuilding?" with the fact that the whole rebuilding success story is bogus since we blew it up in the first place.
Thanks.
if the Iraqis ( sunni , shia , kurd , etc ) want to improve the situation, they have to stop collaborating with the jackbooted nazi amerikan Oil Stealers [Deleted. Do NOT advocate violence on this site-Sitemonitor]
Didn't you get the memo from Rupert? You're not supposed to report this stuff! And don't forget, the American media is not longer reporting Iraqi casualties either.
Oh wait ...my secretary just informed me that Rupert hasn't bought C&L yet...
The Iraq government is on vacationing in a cool area and enjoying themselves with the stolen US money, they really don't care if the people in Iraq have electricity or not. Look the people don't have water and that's no problem either. As long as the US keeps shelling out money nothing will change. Americans just watch each day to see how many soldiers are killed as the media reports the numbers. Our troops don't get vacation either they have 15 to 18 months in the 114 degree heat of Iraq. In Sept. when everyone returns Petraeus will report how well things are going and how the Iraq people love the US. Yes the Iraq Civil War continues but Americans are more concerned about Linsey Lohan right now. Interesting that the US Civil War only involved Americans, no one came over here to settle our differences.
Bush Bites @ 41:
My congressman never acknowledges my e-mails.
But, he always votes the wrong way.
So, I just keep e-mailing him.
Rollo Tomassi @ 10:
I know exactly how you feel. I'm in outrage overload too, and the democrats have made it worse because I had hoped they would reign in King George.
The Iraq people are being freed from the tyranny of electricity and electrical devices. We're freeing them from the oppression of air conditioning and refrigeration. No more will they be shackled with the chains of the twentieth and twenty-first century. It's just more birth pains on their way to total freedom.
If a place was ever a candidate for solar panels, this is it.
bob @ 57:
My congress person always votes "the bush way" :(
So now we need to be talking about winning hearts, minds, and stomachs.
It would actually be cheaper to ship a zillion solar panels to Iraq than to continue doing what we're doing. The real inhabitants of the Stone Age? CONGRESS. They could turn this mindless juggernaut around, and yet they're on vacation, or campaigning!
I hope they all get hangovers.
I love this blog written by an Iraqi dentist who works in Baghdad (works without anesthesia!). He does a good job of telling the story of everyday life in the city.
Iraq's electricity availability future is dim - as a direct result of the US occupation. Look, as a country, over 70% of the US knows that the cheney/bush war machine has fucked up Iraq totally. I really feel ashamed at our country for what these administration chicken hawks have done to the millions of innocents that have been displaced, injured, maimed or killed in Iraq - all for the sake of the cheney/bush ideological war - and for the almighty $$$ (or should it be the other way round?).
What we as a country are generally failing to do is to take seriously the fact that we have lost our moral compass, we have lost many of our civil liberties, and we face the spectre of incipient fascism and a cheny/bush repuke party dictatorship.
The democratic party leadership does not see this as "we the people" do. All they see is their need for re-election - and they will do whatever it takes to be re-elected. They fear that the repuke party will use MSM propaganda against them if they do the right thing for the country - and get these thugs out of office. They do not see that it may not really matter whether they are re-elected. They do not see that any appeasement they give to cheney/bush, in the form we have seen this past week, weakens the country's chances to remain a democracy. True patriotism resides in only a few of our politicians - the rest are only concerned for themselves.
What will the politicians do when the "unitary executive" dictatorship is formalized? Will they roll over as did much of the leadership of France when Hitler invaded that country? No predictions here - as they have rolled over for cheney/bush time after time.
I weep for this country, and what we as a people have lost.
Call me a cynic, if you wish, but I strongly believe that the country deserves better than we have seen from both major political parties, and especially from those in leadership posts in the democratic party.
Geez, we've destroyed the Iraqi's water supply, their electricity is about to totally fail, the Israeli MOSSAD cowboys are continuing to rustle all the Iraqi goats they can get their hands on to shut off their source of protein, and they're being forced to go back to ox-drawn carts and abandon their automobiles because one of the world's top sources of oil has no fuel.
When the Iraqis rise again to the great civilization they once were, they'll build a Monument on the Euphrates dedicated '...Lest We Forget...', and the 'Despotic Tyrant' section will feature a life-size statue of George W. Bush, molded in horseshit and dipped in base metal,
hanging by the neck.
I bet the US Embassy has power and water ! To hell with the people of Iraq!
Nirak,
Good point. I wonder if the infrastructure will be protected if they finally allow us to steal all of their oil and Iraq is divided like the neocons planned from the beginning.
DanInAlabama @ 53:
"You also take the city down. By that I mean you get rid of their power, water. In 2,3,4,5 days they are physically, emotionally and psychologically exhausted," Ullman tells Martin. "
CBS
That's a blatant violation of American War Crimes law as well as violating the Nurmberg Principle and the Geneva Convention.
"Ullman and Wade....their doctrine of Rapid Dominance requires the capability to disrupt "means of communication, transportation, food production, water supply, and other aspects of infrastructure"[6] and in practice, "the appropriate balance of Shock and Awe must cause ... the threat and fear of action that may shut down all or part of the adversary's society"
Wikipedia
Again destroying 'food production, water supply, and other aspects of infrastructure' are violations of American War Crimes law, the Nurmberg Principle and the Geneva Convention.
Dan do a google search for - "shock and awe" "infrastructure" iraq - to get lots more.
what ever happened to isolationism? impeach stupid, fang and gonzo. bring our troops home to help us rebuild our country and tell the rest of the world to fuck off.
paul @ 69:
Being isolationist and telling the world to fuck off sounds a lot like a 4 year old pouting in the corner because he didn't get his own selfish way to me. But I'm with ya on the impeachemnt and bringing our troops home.
George @ 32:
I agree with George.I don't see this as a triumph for America.It only serves as an example of what our own gov. can do to the usa.This country has only been destroyed for it's oil.We seem to forget who the real enemy is.
Thanks Terrible @ 68!
nirak @ 20:
Sure it is! Its really quite safe as long as you have 100 bodyguards and 2 heliocopters flying over the market to ensure your safety!!
sure it's failing...what did we expect....our own infrasruture is going down....whom ever the next Prez is is going to have their work cut out for them...not to mention both houses.
Bush did good with his meeting with the bloggers on how to twist and spin. Now comments are about how bad the Dems Congress is doing and how it's their fault. Now no one remember that Republicans held control of the Congress and rubber stamped everything Bush gave them. No one cares that we have now given away to Iraq ONE TRILLION DOLLARS with nothing to show for it but dead American soldiers. Even McCain is blaming the Minn. bridge accident on Dems because he says they pasted the bill with 6000 pork in it, yet he forgot to say that was in 2005 when the Congress was controlled by Republicans. Look some people will believe what ever their told and it's working very well. If only people will read and look a litter more into what is said maybe things would be different but as it stands now the comments on this blog show the lies are believed by the American people.
61
bill w Says:
My congress person always votes “the bush way” :(
Mine too,Bill,and no chance of change till Mean Jean is gonzo.
Vic Wulsin`08
At the risk of being marked for Guantanamo, is it any surprise that the average Iraqi wants to take up arms against the occupiers?
but the Mega bases / mega embassy are ahead of schedule and fully operational!!! C'mon Iraqis, you know you love that!
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