Is there any truth to this?

[mnmoderatedem]

Were individuals who were interviewd for positions on reconstruction projects in Iraq actually asked their opinions on Roe vs Wade? Heard this somewhere and I was flabbergasted.

[magellan]

1. Appears so

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600193_pf.html

Ties to GOP Trumped Know-How Among Staff Sent to Rebuild Iraq
Early U.S. Missteps in the Green Zone

By Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 17, 2006; A01

Adapted from "Imperial Life in the Emerald City," by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, copyright Knopf 2006

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-led effort to reconstruct Iraq attracted all manner of Americans -- restless professionals, Arabic-speaking academics, development specialists and war-zone adventurers. But before they could go to Baghdad, they had to get past Jim O'Beirne's office in the Pentagon.

To pass muster with O'Beirne, a political appointee who screens prospective political appointees for Defense Department posts, applicants didn't need to be experts in the Middle East or in post-conflict reconstruction. What seemed most important was loyalty to the Bush administration.

O'Beirne's staff posed blunt questions to some candidates about domestic politics: Did you vote for George W. Bush in 2000? Do you support the way the president is fighting the war on terror? Two people who sought jobs with the U.S. occupation authority said they were even asked their views on Roe v. Wade.

Many of those chosen by O'Beirne's office to work for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran Iraq's government from April 2003 to June 2004, lacked vital skills and experience. A 24-year-old who had never worked in finance -- but had applied for a White House job -- was sent to reopen Baghdad's stock exchange. The daughter of a prominent neoconservative commentator and a recent graduate from an evangelical university for home-schooled children were tapped to manage Iraq's $13 billion budget, even though they didn't have a background in accounting.

SNIP

Lays to rest any questions about where all the missing taxpayer money went and how it is that virtually nothing has been reconstructed in Iraq.

[H2O Man]

2. Gives new meaning

to "Birth of a Nation."

[magellan]

3. Throttled before it drew its first breath

The Iraqis should sue BushCo for malpractice. Hell, so should we.

[H2O Man]

4. Dr. Frist

could testify that it appeared to be a living, breathing country.

[magellan]

5. Oh, I dearly wish he would

Maybe then everyone would be convinced it's time to take it off life support.