WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- After a series of critical reports, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction has reviewed a building project that worked: a courthouse in Baghdad.
However, the report highlights how dangerous Baghdad has become for Americans and any Iraqis seen to be cooperating with them -- the inspectors could not visit the site personally to review the construction.
"The assessment team did not visit the project site because officials at Gulf region division determined it was not safe for the team to travel to the site and because the presence of the assessment team increased the potential danger for the Iraqis working at the site," the report states.
In the report, Iraqi workers' faces are blotted out in pictures so they cannot be identified and targeted.
"Since the assessment team was not able to travel to the site, we reviewed commercially available satellite imagery of the courthouse site to independently verify the construction progress," the report states.
The team also interviewed Army Corps of Engineer officials and reviewed documents and progress photos.
The report found no serious problems with the building's construction or progress.
Two other SIGIR reports issued in the last month revealed serious construction problems with a Baghdad police academy and a police station complex in Ninevah province.
The reconstruction projects are part of the $21 billion physical reconstruction program the United States is funding in Iraq. The inspector general's office reported that about 80 percent of the projects they have reviewed are successful.
