Iraqi Sweat
Current thinking in development policy is that recipients of aid– countries, communities, organizations, and individuals– should make direct contributions to the supported projects. One term for the idea is “participatory development” (c.f. the Participatory Development Forum), and there are many examples (among which the Kecamatan Development Program stands out for its early start, its size, and its success).
In Iraq, The Nation reports employment of 180,000 private contractors by the US, of whom 1/3 — fully 60,000 people — are not Iraqi. I find it incomprehensible that, given astronomical unemployment rates among Iraqis, any non-Iraqi contractors could be hired at all.
