Stupid Engineering Mistakes

lee1 writes "Wired has bestowed on us a list of the ten worst engineering mistakes of all time. We have the St. Francis Dam designed by 'self-taught' engineer William Mulholland, which burst and wiped out several towns near LA; the Kansas City Hyatt walkway collapse; the DC-10, and more, but my favorite is the one I'd never heard of: a giant tank of molasses that ruptured in 1919 and sent 'waves of molasses up to 15 feet high' through Boston, killing 21."

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Operation Iraqi Liberation

[jafac]

This was probably the worst disaster in the history of the world.

(someone else might also want to talk about the flaws in the New Orleans levy system as well, the report just came out this week).

1. The name of the operation acronymized was "O.I.L." - which became a political problem when considering the credibility gap for the war's justification, and accusations that the "war was about OIL".

2. Many armchair military "experts" - as well as more than a few retired generals, as well as perhaps a few active duty generals (who remained silent for fear of their jobs) believed that in the area of 300,000 to 500,000 troops would be necessary for a successful occupation. The invasion proceeded with less than 150,000 troops, and since that time, troop levels were drawn down as low as 115,000. The results were devastating.

While America's superior military hardware technology made this one of the least lethal and quickest invasions in military history, the lack of planning and troops created a chaotic situation which has resulted in massive looting, armed gangs executing civillians in large numbers, weapons depots like Al Qa Qaa being raided, with hundreds of tons of high explosives falling into the hands of looters, (and from there, probably terrorists, who are now using it to murder civillians and US troops).

3. The civillain policy that went along with the invasion initially involved setting up a viceroy-like regime governed by the Iraqi National Congress, and organization run by Ahmed Chalabi, a convicted embezzler (we're talking $300 million here), and who was since proven to be an Iranian spy, and is alleged to be involved in the deaths of several postwar Iraqi politicians. This plan, along with the complete disenfranchising of any Iraqi that had been involved in the previous Iraqi government (ie. anyone who had any experience or knowledge in how to administer this country and it's government services and infrastructure) resulted in a huge violent backlash among religious extremists, which led to the issuance of an arrest warrant for one of it's leaders, Sadr. His followers then organized into armed gangs, which became a threat, and in order to quell this threat, the US was forced to offer a rival shiite leader some political say - which led to a collapse of the "original plan" - and forced the US to accept free elections (one of Sistani's demands - NOT a part of Bush's original plan). The Bush Administration's rhetoric changed accordingly, and suddenly, the war had a new excuse: democracy promotion.

4. Despite a new constitution being drafted, and elections being held, a new government with any legitimate force has still not been formed, and the country has been de-facto run by the various factions and armed gangs, with dozens of violent deaths occuring every day; groups of 10-40 bodies turning up, day after day, hands bound, showing signs of torture, often from electric drills.

5. While many Americans believed that by taking Saddam Hussein out of power, the country's oil supply would be loosed onto the market, bringing oil prices down, and the profits from the sales paying for the war - in fact, what has happened is Iraq's oil production has pretty much come to a halt due to sabotage and disorganization. Oil prices are now approximately double on the world market, what they were prior to invasion. And now, we're faced with the dilemma, if American troops leave, we may end up with a sectarian massacre. If American troops stay, we will continue to burn money at a rate of approximately $100 Billion a year, and tie up our forces in a foreign land where they will be unavailable for the defense of American interests elsewhere. (like rattling sabres at rogue states like Iran or North Korea as they attempt to perpetrate nuclear extortion).

6. The Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority, which ruled Iraq before the election, lost - yes LOST $9 Billion. Call it theft, call it poor accounting practices, call it the fog of war. Nobody is investigating what happened, or