And the US is giving up on water and power - "U.S. shifts Iraq rebuilding funds to security, oil"
But everything is fine, according to the blogs. And according to the Bush Administration. Everything is wonderful, every attack is the last gasp of the Baathists. Even the Sunni attacks and the Shiite attacks - those are the last-ditch efforts of the Saddamists.

"Without security, there's no possibility, as many power plants as you have, to actually get electricity, water, sewage, power to Iraqis," said Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman. "And so that's why so much of this money and the reallocation that you see is moving toward security."

"In order to offset the redirection of money, the United States will reduce spending on water and sewage projects by $1.9 billion and electricity by $1 billion.

"Iraq has identified improving water, sewage and electricity as important reconstruction projects. Robin Raphel, a former ambassador who now works on Iraqi reconstruction issues at the State Department, acknowledged that few Iraqis have access to potable water and that most receive electricity for about half the day only.

"But Grossman said Iraqis "understand our priorities and certainly understand the issue that if there's no security, nothing else is going to get done."

Arf (Oh, Bow, there's be some tough times. Not for Halliburton, though.)