We're okay

We returned from a short R&R in Dahab, Egypt last week. Now it is the site of the most recent tragic terrorist attack. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our many friends in Dahab and to all the people of Egypt. Dahab is truly magical and we cherished the hospitality of the Bedouin locals. They do not deserve this.

Reconstruction Failure

The NY Times reports today that former USAID officials believe that reconstruction of major infrastructure in Iraq was destined to fail:

In Iraq, "We set it up to fail," said Andrew S. Natsios, who was director of the United States Agency for International Development until January. He and some White House and State Department officials say they argued early on that a large-scale reconstruction program could never succeed in a hostile environment.

NY Times, Joel Brinkley, April 8, 2006

Too busy to get in trouble

My boss and my fellow technical expert are both on short R&Rs so I am currently running the Infrastructure office single-handedly. And for those of you who know my troubles with home electrical projects, yes I'm in charge of our power sector again.

Turn out the lights, the party's over!

PS to Sarge: I'll post a comment when I have time to breathe again.