The war in Iraq has diverted attention from the weakness in the U.S. economy, at least for a while. It also siphoned off federal dollars from environmental projects at home. Overseas, some firms may have an opportunity to recoup some of that money, but only if the U.S. and the United Nations are willing to stay the course and spend the billions of dollars needed to put Iraq back on course after severe underinvestment during 12 years of sanctions. Iraq needs a good deal of environmental remediation, from basic water-wastewater treatment improvements to clearing minefields and dealing with unexploded ordnance. There is a growing consensus that the Arab marshlands in the southern part of the country should be restored. The ecosystem was drained by Saddam Hussein, ostensibly to promote irrigation, but in reality to punish the Shiite population that revolted against his regime in the early 1990s. Thousands of Marsh Arabs were killed or resettled in northern Iraq to displace the Kurds. Undoing the damage in social, political and environmental terms would be an enormous undertaking. The marsh area is larger than the Everglades and restoration would cost billions of dollars.
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