Petraeus: More than 80,000 buildings under review

[951-Riverside]

Source: The Associated Press

More than 80,000 facilities in Iraq will be inspected for faulty wiring as part of an effort to prevent future accidental electrocutions of U.S. troops, the top commander in Iraq said.

At least 10 U.S. soldiers, five Marines and a third-country contractor for the Defense Department have been identified as having died by electrocution in Iraq.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, spelled out the extent of the review that began last month in a letter to Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., that was released Monday by Casey's office. Casey had questioned what changes had been made following the death of a Green Beret from Pittsburgh, Sgt. Ryan Maseth, who was electrocuted while showering.



Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/04/america/Iraq-Contractors-Electrocutions.php

[robinlynne]

1. We have 80,000 buildings in Iraq?

[BadgerKid]

7. Gotta be non-nation-building buildings

:sarcasm:
:(

[Buzz Clik]

2. How many of our troops would be electrocuted by faulty Iraqi wiring if ...

they were stationed in the U.S.?

[pattmarty]

3. We don't need a fucking review, what we need are new "contractors".

[The Blue Flower]

4. We also need prosecutions

nt

[wordpix]

8. we also need to clear out some jail cells to make way for the criminal war profiteers

[Xipe Totec]

14. House them in those same 80,000 buildings

that'll learn them.

[pattmarty]

10. Yup.

[Jane Austin]

5. Whatever happened to the Seabees?

We have a friend who, everytime there was a crisis, was activated in the Naval Reserve Seabees and sent to build bases where they were needed.

He was so proud of the work they did, and how fast and how well they did it.

[SpiralHawk]

6. supplanted by republicon-crony 'contractors'

Republicon philosophy: we can't see no way to make Massive Profit for ourselves off the Seabees.

[pattmarty]

11. Yeah, but how many Seabees did you know that were wealthy?

:sarcasm:

[lapfog_1]

9. 80,000 facilities???

We have, what, 150,000 troops in Iraq, add in another 100,000 military related contractors...

So we have a building with wiring (leaves out most tents) for every THREE people we have there? WTF?

[Thor_MN]

16. Probably includes schools, hospitals, police buildings, embassies, housing for mercenaries, etc

We did build some things not for American use. Hate to think what standards were used in those buildings.

It would be interesting to compare the buildings that KBR built for their own use, to the buildings used by American troops and Iraqis.

[lapfog_1]

18. I think we have seen some of the hospitals and police

stations built by American contractors for the Iraqis (we would have been SOOOO much better off hiring Iraqis to rebuild their own facilities... but that's another story). Anyway, the toilets don't work, the sewage systems leak, usually on the top of the heads of the people in the lower floors, there are mismatched electrical devices (things installed that don't match the wiring supplied). There are missing drains and sinks and no running water.

And we likely haven't even visited these facilities for about 2 years... as any American caught outside the green zone (without the surrounding Army battalion) is at grave risk of being killed.

Probably the only reason we haven't electrocuted thousands of Iraqis with the shoddy wiring is that there isn't any reliable power in the city or, indeed, most of the country (outside of our Army bases and the green zone).

[Angleae]

12. Are they counting tents?

[bluesmail]

13. Accidental my ass.

[appleannie1]

15. 80,000 buildings on military bases? Were they planning on moving

our entire military, along with their families, over there to live?

[Supersedeas]

17. that is some kind of responsive turn-around time--almost like he cares