Iraqi blogger Riverbend does some maths on the big numbers being quoted to rebuild Iraq. The gist of it is- American contractors are going to charge 100+ times more than the locals would. rebuilding Iraq isn’t just about putting structures back up, either, it’s also about kick starting the economy. If the figures in here are correct it would be cheaper, and better in the long run, to pump the money directly into the local economy. this would also mean fewer Americans dying, as they wouldn’t have so many contractors (targets) in country, troops wouldn’t have to be deployed to defend these contractors and the occupation could just melt away.

Of course, Halliburton et al wouldn’t be making any profit then, so that’s not going to happen.

via Burnt Toast