Military Officer - May 2006 - (Page 51)

Maj. Roger Alsup, of the Army Corps of Engineers, delivers school supplies — and a bit of hope — to Iraqi children. ernment of the United States provided are doing that exactly.” Bowen’s report said the administration should make one last request for $2 billion to sustain projects completed and to transfer operations and projects to the Iraqi government. In early 2006, the Bush administration asked for $642 million more for reconstruction, part of a $72.4 billion supplemental budget to continue to fund the occupation and battle terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan. USACE soon will begin working with Iraqi provinces to set up their own reconstruction teams. Funding likely would come from their national government. the poor water, sewer, and electrical situation in some parts of Iraq to that of the United States more than a century ago. But McMillan says he thinks the most striking part of the Iraq experience is the extreme poverty. “I’ve been to the Philippines before and saw poverty. But at least they had villages and something they could eat. Here there is sewage on the ground outside kids running in and out of it. Shepherds take their sheep to eat from the trash. It stinks,” says McMillan. Yet he also has learned from conversations with Iraqi contractors how alike people are. “They’re just human too,” McMillan says, “with families and needs and problems, and looking for a good job.” When U.S. reconstruction efforts end, Iraq still will have problems, says McCoy. “There will be places where the street is not paved and the sewage might be out on the street,” he predicts. “But in a lot of places we are going to have fresh water, we’re going to have places where sewage is treated, we’re going to have electricity, we’re going to have kids in schools that have ﬂoors rather than just mud. We’re making a difference. That’s the part that Americans can be proud of.” Looking to history, McCoy compares the $20 billion being spent to rebuild Iraq to the $100 billion, in 2005 dollars, the United States spent to help rebuild Europe after World War II. “Was it worth it? I think so. That’s kind of what America does. We provide hope to people who [have] lost it.” MO M AY 2 0 0 6 Providing hope Three years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, McMillan compared PHOTO: NORRIS JONES/U.S. ARMY MILITARY OFFICER 51

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Military Officer - May 2006 Contents From the Editor President's Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Raising Iraq Dogfight Fun Caring For Our Own Pages of History Information Exchange MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - May 2006

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