Civilian Projects On The Rocks In Iraq

BAGHDAD, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The wreckage of a Baghdad water park symbolizes failed U.S. efforts to win over Iraqis with civilian projects, some commanders say.

The Jadriyah Lake park by the Tigris River was opened with fanfare in August 2008 and drew large crowds for the rest of the year, The Washington Post reported Monday.

But religious authorities objected, and by the next spring, the local power supply was reduced, the water pumps stopped and the lake dried up. Today, much of the compound is in ruins.

The park was among the projects funded by the $5 billion Commander's Emergency Response Program, which was intended counter extremism. But U.S. auditors have said the program has been used for expensive boondoggles of doubtful value. Often, the Iraqi government had no say in the ventures and has refused to keep them going.

Even some U.S. commanders are beginning to question the fund, seeing little evidence that the millions pumped into Iraq -- and now Afghanistan -- have achieved its goals.

Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, a former commander in northern Iraq, said local bosses often used the program to enrich themselves.

Col. Craig Collier, who led a battalion in Baghdad, said, "We've allowed a theory to become dogma without introspection."