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**huylibizonoff** · 02-09-2010, 02:52 AM

Hell will freeze over the day that Obama ever gives Bush any credit or respect for the decision he made which turned Iraq into what it is today, something far better than 10 or 20 years ago.

The same ice storm causing hell to freeze over will also what will result in conservatives giving Obama and the Dems any credit for anything.

Iraq is no better off than it was before the invasion, and in some respects they are worse off. Before the invasion most residents of Baghdad had electricity and running water, now they do not.

The International Red Cross report into humanitarian conditions in Iraq says:
Because of the conflict, millions of Iraqis have insufficient access to clean water, sanitation and health care... http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/iraq-report-170308/$file/ICRC-Iraq-report-0308-eng.pdf

In an interview, Dr. Sundus Abass, Director of Women in Leadership Institute in Baghdad says,
Q - Are the conditions for women any different now?

A - Yes, compared to the conditions in 2006-2007, the direct violent threats to women in public have lessened, but the general situation has not improved. Women still face acute shortages of basic services. Widows, in particular, have to deal with this alone. High unemployment rates mean that more women are the primary breadwinners for their families. Also, female prisoners and detainees are still without due processes of justice. Women are also continuously worried that those in power are trying to abolish the Personal Status Law* of 1959. Also, the Iraqi Penal Code still heavily punishes women for crimes of honor and cements the right of a husband to beat his wife and daughters. A number of women are being trafficked. Domestic violence has increased. There are no laws that protect women from this, and there are very few safe shelters for battered women, except for some shelters in Kurdistan. How are Women in Iraq Faring Now? / Library / Issues and Analysis / Home - AWID

This is a very interesting paper presented by Nadje Al-Ali, The Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK:
Act Together: Women's Action for Iraq
Coming back to present-day Iraq, education and working conditions have deteriorated rapidly. Higher education has virtually collapsed and degrees are worthless in the context of widespread corruption and an uninterrupted exodus of university professors. Monthly salaries in the public sector, which has paradoxically become increasingly staffed by women, have dropped dramatically and do not correspond to high inflation rates and the cost of living.

Despite indisputable political repression in the 1970s and 1980s, the majority of the Iraqi population enjoyed high living standards in the context of an economic boom and rapid development, which were a result of the rise of oil prices and the government’s developmental policies. Although signs of deterioration of living standards started to become evident during the years of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), there seemed to be the prevailing belief that the situation would revert to the better once the war stopped. And while many families lost sons, brothers, fathers, friends and neighbours during this time, life in the cities appeared relatively ‘normal’, with women notably playing a very significant role in public life.
A first hand account by Raed Jarrar of the "improvements" seen by the residents of Iraq:
Iraq: Seven Years of Occupation | CommonDreams.org
In the last seven years, one million Iraqis have been killed and millions more injured and displaced from their homes. The country's infrastructure was destroyed and Iraq's civil society has been severely damaged
Crime rates are on the increase. Many women reported that 10 years ago they used to keep all their doors open and felt totally secure. Now there are numerous accounts of burglaries – often violent ones. The only positive things to have come out of Iraq have been that many US companies have made a lot of money on supplying materials for the war and the farcical reconstruction effort. Some Americans may feel safer too, but I seem to recall that this war was about "liberating the Iraqi's from an evil dictator who threatened the safety of the entire world with his weapons." Well, 7 years later and we're still looking for those weapons. It's a pesky little issue I grant you. I'm sure the Iraqi people go to bed every night thanking the West for "improving" their life by removing their access to health services, education, running water, electricity, etc. Hey, if the US doesn't want to look after the health of its citizens, that's fine, but Iraq is a soverign nation (although many in the US and its govt like to forget that too).

02-09-2010, 02:52 AM	#10
huylibizonoff Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 572 Senior Member	Hell will freeze over the day that Obama ever gives Bush any credit or respect for the decision he made which turned Iraq into what it is today, something far better than 10 or 20 years ago. The same ice storm causing hell to freeze over will also what will result in conservatives giving Obama and the Dems any credit for anything. Iraq is no better off than it was before the invasion, and in some respects they are worse off. Before the invasion most residents of Baghdad had electricity and running water, now they do not. The International Red Cross report into humanitarian conditions in Iraq says: Because of the conflict, millions of Iraqis have insufficient access to clean water, sanitation and health care... http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/iraq-report-170308/$file/ICRC-Iraq-report-0308-eng.pdf In an interview, Dr. Sundus Abass, Director of Women in Leadership Institute in Baghdad says, Q - Are the conditions for women any different now? A - Yes, compared to the conditions in 2006-2007, the direct violent threats to women in public have lessened, but the general situation has not improved. Women still face acute shortages of basic services. Widows, in particular, have to deal with this alone. High unemployment rates mean that more women are the primary breadwinners for their families. Also, female prisoners and detainees are still without due processes of justice. Women are also continuously worried that those in power are trying to abolish the Personal Status Law* of 1959. Also, the Iraqi Penal Code still heavily punishes women for crimes of honor and cements the right of a husband to beat his wife and daughters. A number of women are being trafficked. Domestic violence has increased. There are no laws that protect women from this, and there are very few safe shelters for battered women, except for some shelters in Kurdistan. How are Women in Iraq Faring Now? / Library / Issues and Analysis / Home - AWID This is a very interesting paper presented by Nadje Al-Ali, The Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK: Act Together: Women's Action for Iraq Coming back to present-day Iraq, education and working conditions have deteriorated rapidly. Higher education has virtually collapsed and degrees are worthless in the context of widespread corruption and an uninterrupted exodus of university professors. Monthly salaries in the public sector, which has paradoxically become increasingly staffed by women, have dropped dramatically and do not correspond to high inflation rates and the cost of living. Despite indisputable political repression in the 1970s and 1980s, the majority of the Iraqi population enjoyed high living standards in the context of an economic boom and rapid development, which were a result of the rise of oil prices and the government’s developmental policies. Although signs of deterioration of living standards started to become evident during the years of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), there seemed to be the prevailing belief that the situation would revert to the better once the war stopped. And while many families lost sons, brothers, fathers, friends and neighbours during this time, life in the cities appeared relatively ‘normal’, with women notably playing a very significant role in public life. A first hand account by Raed Jarrar of the "improvements" seen by the residents of Iraq: Iraq: Seven Years of Occupation \| CommonDreams.org In the last seven years, one million Iraqis have been killed and millions more injured and displaced from their homes. The country's infrastructure was destroyed and Iraq's civil society has been severely damaged Crime rates are on the increase. Many women reported that 10 years ago they used to keep all their doors open and felt totally secure. Now there are numerous accounts of burglaries – often violent ones. The only positive things to have come out of Iraq have been that many US companies have made a lot of money on supplying materials for the war and the farcical reconstruction effort. Some Americans may feel safer too, but I seem to recall that this war was about "liberating the Iraqi's from an evil dictator who threatened the safety of the entire world with his weapons." Well, 7 years later and we're still looking for those weapons. It's a pesky little issue I grant you. I'm sure the Iraqi people go to bed every night thanking the West for "improving" their life by removing their access to health services, education, running water, electricity, etc. Hey, if the US doesn't want to look after the health of its citizens, that's fine, but Iraq is a soverign nation (although many in the US and its govt like to forget that too).
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