Iraq Living Conditions Tragic - Report

[katty]

more at: http://ipsnews.net/new_notan.asp?idnews=28665

DEVELOPMENT:
Iraq Living Conditions Tragic - Report
Niko Kyriakou

UNITED NATIONS, May 13 (IPS) - Iraqis' living conditions have deteriorated and pose challenges for development efforts two years after the U.S.-led invasion, says a groundbreaking new joint Iraqi-U.N. report.

The Iraq Living Conditions Survey (ILCS), based data from 22,000 households and released Thursday, is the first comprehensive statistical description of living standards in the country produced in years and is expected to steer future reconstruction and development assistance, officials said.

''This survey shows a rather tragic situation of the quality of life in Iraq,'' Barham Salih, Iraq's minister of planning, said in a statement.

Household surveys were conducted last year and measured indicators ranging from health to employment, housing, status of and access to public services, education, income and war-related deaths.

The report estimates the number of Iraqis who have died since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 somewhere between 18,000 and 29,000.

Of those deaths, 12 percent were children under 18 years of age, meaning that between 2,100 and 3,500 children have been killed in the war thus far, according to ILCS data.

more at... see link top

[atreides1]

1. But....

...didn't Clinton just say that Iraq was good for changes in the Middle East?

He forgot to mention that the changes aren't that great for Iraq, I guess he was smoking a cigar during that part?

[katty]

2. Cigar? Pot? who knows-they're all high on arrogance

and will come crashing down-eventually.

[reprehensor]

3. Thanks for posting.

Missed that.

[wiggs]

4. Caution: Do not automatically trust this article

A few red flags.

First, the article repeats an estimate that Iraq needs 36 billion dollars for reconstruction. Estimates like this in other countries have historically preceded large loans from the World Bank (who by the way generated the 36b estimate for Iraq and who will be run by a neocon). These loans are generally inflated, cannot be paid back, generate money that goes to American companies only, and serve as a noose around the neck of the receiving country to keep it in line and destitute. This is standard procedure for many countries falling under American empire...Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Indonesia, and African countries. This insidious strategy of getting World Bank loans appears to be a generous act of humanitarianism, but it almost never ends up benefitting anyone but American companies and the country's elite. At best, it is the beginning of how to use Iraqi oil to benefit American construction companies. At worst, it is modern day slavery.

Second: Half of ALL rural homes in one particular province have damage from military action....and only 18-29,000 Iraqi's have died? I wouldn't be surprised that the entire point of the article was to float out this lower casualty number. Other estimates are 100-200,000 CITIZENS dead, not including military. These higher numbers probably include insurgents, victims of insurgents, deaths after long injury related illness, occupation related violence, etc.

Third: This is an Iraqi/UN report, meaning that it's a US/UN report. Enough said on that point.

Fourth: If the US had a hand in the report, you can be sure that the descriptions of bad living conditions are grossly under-reported.

I bet we'll see more about this article in the coming days. I would like to know what Dahr Jamail (reporter who reports the real Iraq story) thinks of the content.....