Official US agency paints dire picture of 'out-of-control' Iraq

· Analysis issued by USAid in reconstruction effort
· Account belies picture painted by White House

Julian Borger in Washington
Wednesday January 18, 2006
The Guardian

An official assessment drawn up by the US foreign aid agency depicts the security situation in Iraq as dire, amounting to a "social breakdown" in which criminals have "almost free rein".

The "conflict assessment" is an attachment to an invitation to contractors to bid on a project rehabilitating Iraqi cities published earlier this month by the US Agency for International Development (USAid).