US General David Petraeus blew $1 million on a water park in Baghdad that's now in ruins

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US General David Petraeus blew $1 million on a water park in Baghdad that’s now in ruins

According to a report by the Washington Post, US General David Petreus spent $1 million in discretionary funds to build a water park in Baghdad. The Post seems to think that Petreus wasted the money, considering that the park went unused and is now in ruins, but fuck… it’s Iraq and it’s hot and who doesn’t love a water park? Iraq apparently.

In the spring of 2008, Gen. David H. Petraeus decided he had spent enough time gazing from his helicopter at an empty and desolate lake on the banks of the Tigris River. He ordered the lake refilled and turned into a water park for all of Baghdad to enjoy.

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But today the Baghdad park is nearly waterless, more than two years after a U.S. military inauguration ceremony that included a marching band and water-scooter rides. Much of the compound is in ruins, swing sets have become piles of twisted steel, and the personal watercraft’s engines have been gutted for spare parts.

The troubled history of the venture speaks to the limitations and mishandling of a program that has provided U.S. military commanders with $5 billion for projects in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past six years.

And here’s a military video on the opening of the park: