Just passing along an E-Mail I thought some might like to read.
Subject: Bechtel in Iraq
Thought you might be just a little interested in what Bechtel is up against in Iraq. Noted that there is almost NO press coverage of their good work over there. Press is ONLY interested in bad news it seems.
(Regarding the exchange of emails I had with CNN's Lou Dobbs on Bechtel's performance in Iraq, I copied Bechtel's PR department and to my surprise, they copied Cliff Mumm, Bechtel's overall manager in Iraq. The following is Cliff's message to me.) I think you'll agree it is interesting:
I rarely respond to this stuff, but you nailed the story so well. We have 96 people resident in country and another 71 in Kuwait waiting for camp accommodation. It is now about 45 days since we were contractually released to mobilize. The people we mobilized come from 7 different parts of Bechtel as this contract cover 7 infrastructure segements: Power, telecoms, ports, airports, water/wastewater, bridges, roads, railroads, schools,
hospitals and clinics.
In those 45 days, we have driven and flown the high line across Iraq at low elevation, looked at every major power plant and substation (Most are 30 years old, have never been maintained and are operating at about 40%. Substations have been completely destroyed by looters and the high line is still today being systematically dismantled to harvest the copper
conductor and sell to Iran), looked at every major wastewater (Every drop of sewage in Iraq flows directly into the rivers and some plant tanks have been converted to fuel storage) and water treatment plants, taken the train from Syria to Umm Qasr and to the Iranian border (our folks slept on the trains or on the floors in old stations and ate MRE), completely assessed
what it would take to get the Baghdad and Basrah airports back in operation (all ground and air traffic control equipment destroyed during war), completed a bathometric survey of the Umm Qasr port (The port is full of unexploded ordnance from the Iran/Iraq and first gulf wars, so you can't just start dredging). Dredged the port of 2.6 cubic meters of silt (The port can now accept grain ships), put the neglected grain handling system back
into service after serious cleaning and removing rat infestation (Sadaam was shipping the oil for food grain to Syria and Iran for money so hadn't been used in years). We have also developed a plan for putting country wide telecoms back into service and marched through literally hundreds of schools and clinics to develop a scope of work to get kids back in school by September 15th.
We have mobilized three camps: Baghdad, Umm Qasr, and Basrah. We have also surveyed 45 bridges across Iraq mostly damaged by the war and have started repairs on three which were an immediate safety problem. We have completed a detailed assessment report of the infrastructure and recommendations of where to spend the $680 mm to get the best bang for the buck and make the most difference. We have committed to using only Iraqi contractors and have worked a good scheme for insurance in the face of no insurance market
in Iraq. Private contractors are not in any data base in Iraq so we have moved forward on a big program to get do that so we have somebody other than old regime companies to bid on the work. We are doing the same for Iraqi suppliers. We have a program underway which will restore 1400 looted schools across Iraq (even the toilet fixtures were taken if you can believe that). We currently have around 500 Iraqis being paid through three
major contracts and at the port. Over the coming weeks I expect we will have thousands in this program.
We have a $680mm contract which has only been funded to $147mm and then only reluctantly. We have scraped for every cent and we have to work hard every day to get permission to do anything.
You are right, the security situation around Iraq is a problem, threats are frequent as is gunfire and our people have to wear flack jackets when outside the camps. We have to use armed security to do everything and travel across Iraq is by 12 hour military convoy or C130 military flights. The last trip to Baghdad on a C130 took 25 hours from Kuwait City and they slept on the floor in an old building at the airport until the curfew was over and they could come to camp. The road to and from the airport has to be mine cleared each morning by the US Military. Travel everyplace is restricted by an 11pm-7am curfew. Our people in Basrah have been grounded for 2 days now because of a specific threat against American contractors.
This sort of thing happens with some frequency.
Your assessment was so close to mark that you could walk in today and do the job. The press in the US is pathetically uninformed. We are working on getting more information out, but they are not really interested in little other than how the contract was awarded and exciting bad news.
We are all working hard every day, all day and you would be proud. Nobody is complaining, we all feel like we are doing the right things even with the frustration and strangely enough most are happy to be here. Everybody is working hard every day, all day and you would be proud. Besides folks in Bechtel, Iraq is full of good people trying to do the right thing under very difficult circumstances.
I have passed your letter around and want you to know it was a real boost for all of us.....thanks. Come on over....
Subject: Bechtel in Iraq
Thought you might be just a little interested in what Bechtel is up against in Iraq. Noted that there is almost NO press coverage of their good work over there. Press is ONLY interested in bad news it seems.
(Regarding the exchange of emails I had with CNN's Lou Dobbs on Bechtel's performance in Iraq, I copied Bechtel's PR department and to my surprise, they copied Cliff Mumm, Bechtel's overall manager in Iraq. The following is Cliff's message to me.) I think you'll agree it is interesting:
I rarely respond to this stuff, but you nailed the story so well. We have 96 people resident in country and another 71 in Kuwait waiting for camp accommodation. It is now about 45 days since we were contractually released to mobilize. The people we mobilized come from 7 different parts of Bechtel as this contract cover 7 infrastructure segements: Power, telecoms, ports, airports, water/wastewater, bridges, roads, railroads, schools,
hospitals and clinics.
In those 45 days, we have driven and flown the high line across Iraq at low elevation, looked at every major power plant and substation (Most are 30 years old, have never been maintained and are operating at about 40%. Substations have been completely destroyed by looters and the high line is still today being systematically dismantled to harvest the copper
conductor and sell to Iran), looked at every major wastewater (Every drop of sewage in Iraq flows directly into the rivers and some plant tanks have been converted to fuel storage) and water treatment plants, taken the train from Syria to Umm Qasr and to the Iranian border (our folks slept on the trains or on the floors in old stations and ate MRE), completely assessed
what it would take to get the Baghdad and Basrah airports back in operation (all ground and air traffic control equipment destroyed during war), completed a bathometric survey of the Umm Qasr port (The port is full of unexploded ordnance from the Iran/Iraq and first gulf wars, so you can't just start dredging). Dredged the port of 2.6 cubic meters of silt (The port can now accept grain ships), put the neglected grain handling system back
into service after serious cleaning and removing rat infestation (Sadaam was shipping the oil for food grain to Syria and Iran for money so hadn't been used in years). We have also developed a plan for putting country wide telecoms back into service and marched through literally hundreds of schools and clinics to develop a scope of work to get kids back in school by September 15th.
We have mobilized three camps: Baghdad, Umm Qasr, and Basrah. We have also surveyed 45 bridges across Iraq mostly damaged by the war and have started repairs on three which were an immediate safety problem. We have completed a detailed assessment report of the infrastructure and recommendations of where to spend the $680 mm to get the best bang for the buck and make the most difference. We have committed to using only Iraqi contractors and have worked a good scheme for insurance in the face of no insurance market
in Iraq. Private contractors are not in any data base in Iraq so we have moved forward on a big program to get do that so we have somebody other than old regime companies to bid on the work. We are doing the same for Iraqi suppliers. We have a program underway which will restore 1400 looted schools across Iraq (even the toilet fixtures were taken if you can believe that). We currently have around 500 Iraqis being paid through three
major contracts and at the port. Over the coming weeks I expect we will have thousands in this program.
We have a $680mm contract which has only been funded to $147mm and then only reluctantly. We have scraped for every cent and we have to work hard every day to get permission to do anything.
You are right, the security situation around Iraq is a problem, threats are frequent as is gunfire and our people have to wear flack jackets when outside the camps. We have to use armed security to do everything and travel across Iraq is by 12 hour military convoy or C130 military flights. The last trip to Baghdad on a C130 took 25 hours from Kuwait City and they slept on the floor in an old building at the airport until the curfew was over and they could come to camp. The road to and from the airport has to be mine cleared each morning by the US Military. Travel everyplace is restricted by an 11pm-7am curfew. Our people in Basrah have been grounded for 2 days now because of a specific threat against American contractors.
This sort of thing happens with some frequency.
Your assessment was so close to mark that you could walk in today and do the job. The press in the US is pathetically uninformed. We are working on getting more information out, but they are not really interested in little other than how the contract was awarded and exciting bad news.
We are all working hard every day, all day and you would be proud. Nobody is complaining, we all feel like we are doing the right things even with the frustration and strangely enough most are happy to be here. Everybody is working hard every day, all day and you would be proud. Besides folks in Bechtel, Iraq is full of good people trying to do the right thing under very difficult circumstances.
I have passed your letter around and want you to know it was a real boost for all of us.....thanks. Come on over....
