Letter: Failed Projects in Iraq

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The United States invaded Iraq (under questionable circumstances) and added development to its agenda. This effort failed not least because of insufficient collaboration — imperiousness on our part — and by not obtaining sufficient "buy in" from the Iraqis ("Report Details Mistakes Made by U.S. in Improvement Projects for Iraq," news article, March 6).

The effort led to expenditures of $60 billion in aid and $8 billion in known waste, widespread cost overruns and declining interest in projects by Iraqis as the United States pulled out. (To be sure, these extravagant sums could have been far better used at home.)

Yet former Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta argued that results might have been better if only more leverage had been kept on the Iraqis in the end game. This detracts from the larger picture. For eight years, the United States military had enormous leverage and failed. The larger lesson may be that top-down development in the midst of war is a dubious proposition.

STEPHEN A. BUFF
Columbia, Md., March 7, 2013

The writer was assistant inspector general for evaluation for the Peace Corps, 2001-03.

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