Although much of the political debate of late has focused on the price of gasoline, another pocketbook issue, Iraq — yes, the war and occupation contributed to driving up the price of oil by weakening the U.S. dollar – is back in the news. Today, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction will release a report detailing billions lost so far on scrubbed or substandard projects in Iraq.

Empty prison in Iraq a $40M ‘failure’ (Associated Press, July 28, 2008) — In this undated photograph released by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Khan Bani Saad Correctional Facility, about 12 miles northeast of Baghdad, is seen with unused building materials nearby. The site is a chronicle of U.S. government waste, misguided planning, and construction shortcuts costing $40 million … Full story

———

OTHER IRAQ NEWS

Suicide Attacks Kill 57 in Iraq, Wound Nearly 300

July 28, 2008

BAGHDAD — Suicide bombers struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300, police said.

Three female suicide bombers blew their explosive vests in the middle of pilgrims in Baghdad, moments after a roadside bomb attack, killing at least 32 people and wounding 102, Iraqi officials said. …

It was the deadliest attack in Baghdad since June 17, when a truck bombing killed 63 people in Hurriyah, a neighborhood that saw some of the worst Shiite-Sunni slaughter in 2006. …

In the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk, 25 people were killed and 185 wounded when a blast tore through a crowd of Kurds protesting a draft provincial elections law, officials said. …

After the suicide explosion, dozens of angry Kurds opened fire on the offices of a Turkomen political party, which opposes Kurdish claims on Kirkuk. …

Full story