US military commanders in Iraq are warning civilian leaders in Washington that delays in reconstruction projects caused by red tape are putting the lives of their troops at risk and undermining the military mission in Iraq.
From the junior officer level up through the senior ranks, these officers have outlined obstacles that they say frustrate the rebuilding just as much as the roadside bombs and terrorist attacks that are the more visible threats. They have argued to the new American Embassy in Baghdad and to congressional delegations visiting Iraq that certain regulations are a dangerous impediment to the military's mission.
"Bureaucracy kills," said one senior commander.
"We went to the embassy. We talked to two congressional delegations. We are asking for assistance," said another senior US military officer in Iraq. "We can either put Iraqis back to work, or we can leave them to shoot RPGs at us," a reference to rocket-propelled grenades.
In interviews and e-mail exchanges that are full of similar comments, a range of officers all across Iraq expressed the view that success at delivering electricity, water, sewer services and health care is just as important as killing enemy fighters. And they revealed deep frustrations with procurement regulations involving matters like bonds required of local contractors and workers' compensation costs.
The problem, they say, is the system of peacetime regulations governing routine federal contracts that is being applied in the chaos facing the reconstruction efforts. In detailed reports to the Baghdad embassy and the Pentagon, the officers described how projects were delayed and halted because of requirements to offer substantial workers' compensation coverage to local laborers, or rules that required start-up Iraqi construction companies to post large bonds.
"It is hard to believe that we can possibly get but a small fraction of the US$1.23 billion of projects slated to begin before Dec. 31 started on time," said another military officer in Iraq.
Earlier this month, the American ambassador in Baghdad, John Negroponte, sent a cable to Washington pleading for flexibility. He proposed 20 federal acquisition regulations that could be waived for projects in Iraq, according to four administration and military officials who read the internal report.
At the same time, the National Security Council has organized an interagency task force to conduct a wholesale review of contracting problems in Iraq.
"We are looking at all of the federal acquisition regulations," said a senior administration official involved in the project. "Don't you think some of these could be modified, waived or otherwise altered to allow us to work in this wartime environment?"
The Pentagon, meanwhile, has arranged for a few immediate remedies to be inserted into the defense authorization bill now before Congress. One would streamline contracting procedures for projects in Iraq costing up to US$1 million, doubling the current ceiling of US$500,000 for the speedier procedures. The second would allow commanders to make purchases of up to US$25,000 without competitive bidding, up from the current limit of US$15,000.
"Unfortunately, we have many more elaborate regulations for how we spend money than for how we fire tank ammunition," said one senior Defense Department official. "And if we didn't, people would be up in arms that we're not careful with taxpayer money. If it was a simple problem, it would have been resolved a long time ago."
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