The US government should not be in the business of making decisions regarding Iraq's spectrum. Once an interim government with Iraqis in decision-making capacities is in place, they could decide such things.

Similarly, the Iraqis shouldn't be forced to choose CDMA over GSM for cell phones on the say-so of a congressman who is in Qualcomm's pocket.

Carpet bombing is a sloppy way to remove aging infrastructure, but if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. Hopefully this new engineering method can be judiciously applied to other large cities that refuse to embrace the future. Someone needs to look into Dick Cheney's wireless holdings.

"Similarly, the Iraqis shouldn't be forced to choose CDMA over GSM for cell phones on the say-so of a congressman who is in Qualcomm's pocket."

Yeah, I saw the starving protesters in the street chanting the same thing....

Let's get some perspective folks. We're getting them on their feet. They can bicker over spectrums later. Right now speed of recovery is more important than these piddly decisions that would simply hold up the reconstruction.

I only wish someone would come and blow up the US's communications infrastructure. Shumpeter's law of Creative Destruction falls apart when you factor in government subsidization. Our infrastructure works, barely, so noone will rip it out while other countries that are just now developing are going WiFi and Fiber all the way... That'll bite us in 10 years when our 1940's infrastructure cannot handle the new global communications environment.

Hey, who knows - if we set up enough Linksys wifi routers in Baghdad, maybe they'll forget that our meathead president allowed the history of civilization to disappear because he couldnt park a couple of Bradleys in the museum parking lot!