The Corner

Efficient Iraq Reconstruction

While a lot of people have chimed in about our military strategy in Iraq, our failures in reconstruction and development suggest we also need an overhaul on our civilian side.  I have a piece in the Los Angeles Times today making the case for the revival of the Commander Emergency Relief Program (CERP) model to pump aid directly to the local municipalities.  To avoid interagency turf wars over control of reconstruction funds, USAID should be required to embed everyone required to make a decision in military units who are out-and-about everyday.  The Provincial Reconstruction Teams were a good idea, but they have become mini-Green Zones.  What we need are PRTs on wheels.

Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, senior lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Civil-Military Relations, and a senior editor of the Middle East Quarterly.
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