As U.S. Leaves, Iraqis Suffer Economic Toll

While the political and security consequences of the American withdrawal have yet to be fully resolved, its economic effects have already taken a sharp toll on the tens of thousands of Iraqis who earned their livelihoods, sometimes at great risk, working for the military and the legions of American civilian and defense contractors.

They are now stranded between worlds, struggling to find new jobs in a country where about one in four people is unemployed, and scorned by those who view working for Westerners as treachery. Dozens have been killed, and few have been able to take advantage of American programs to relocate endangered Iraqi allies, discouraged by long waiting lists and tangled rules for applying.

The number of Iraqis employed by the American military has plummeted from 44,000 in January 2009, before the United States began to reduce its forces, to about 10,500 now, according to the military’s figures. The number of American-financed contractors and grant recipients fell by 22 percent just during the summer, according to a report by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. Those numbers are likely to keep falling as the United States continues what one military official called a “glide path” out of Iraq.

Contracts are expiring and reconstruction money is almost completely spent. The 49,700 remaining American troops need fewer Iraqis to paint gymnasiums, lay bricks or serve as links to local communities.


As U.S. Leaves, Iraqis Suffer Economic Toll