Here's something you don't see published everyday: Good news from Iraq by Jeff Emanuel.
...Iraq's economy is growing at a torrid rate, and is only expected to speed up in the near future. According to a State Department report, Iraq's 2005 GDP was 130% what it was in 2002 under Saddam (not only did it rise 2.6% in the last year, but it is expected to climb 10% in the coming year), and unemployment is 50% lower than it was in June 2003. Annual oil export revenues have increased over 300% from the prewar level of $200 million. More than 30,000 new businesses have been registered in Iraq since the fall of Saddam, and per capita income is now 240% higher than the $500 it was before the war. There are more than 5 million cell-phone subscribers now, as compared to virtually none under Saddam, and the country now has more than 2,000 Internet cafes…and a free press. USAID is also helping train Iraqis to become competitive in the job market, such as a recently-held carpentry workshop for young adults which focused on fostering leadership, independence and financial stability. The shops profits are used to purchase sports equipment, secondary school supplies, and other community-related items.
The Army Corps of Engineers and USAID have done amazing work in the last three years rebuilding-and in many cases improving on pre-war levels-Iraq's infrastructure, completing over 2,900 projects since the end of major combat operations, including the renovation and construction of hospitals, the establishment of new police stations and Border Forts (39 of 45 planned forts along the Iran-Iraq border have been completed-and are manned by Iraqis), and the cleaning up of drinking water. A village near the Baghdad airport, for example, had a problem with negative water pressure, which allowed sewage to get into the drinking water. Coalition soldiers spent ten months working with an Iraqi company to remedy the situation, replacing the Saddam-era water pipes with a system which improved pressure and water accessibility for the rest of the village. 'This is the biggest gift from the (Coalition) Forces to this village,' said the manager of the Iraqi company that contributed to the project, himself a resident of the village. 'People used to be very, very sick in the village. When the water pipes were rotten, sewage was leaking (into the water supply). We're really honored to do this and leave this here as a symbol of sacrifice. (Coalition) Forces sacrifice their lives here to help us. It's the least we could offer this village.'
It shouldn't have to be said that electrical power generation and distribution is currently at a level 720% higher than it was in May 2003 (3,600 megawatts vs. just 500 three years ago), and the Army has been providing excellent training to Iraqis to enable them to operate and maintain the nation's power systems. Demand for electricity in Iraq has doubled, and the US’s goal is to reach 6,000 megawatts of output (over 150% of the pre-war level).
It shouldn't have to be said that over 3,000 schools have been 'rehabilitated,' 9 million new textbooks have been distributed, and 36,000 teachers have been trained, or that 315 of 317 school-building projects in northern Iraq have been completed.
It shouldn't have to be said that Iraqis are now receiving excellent-and accessible-medical care courtesy of the US military. Nearly 100% of Iraqi children have been vaccinated, and the military is conducting regular clinics, such as a dental care clinic recently held by 101st Airborne and Army Special Forces medical personnel in the city of Amu Shabi. In another instance, a group of Army engineers also acted to save the lives of a number of residents of a small Iraqi village by sending tissue samples of a stray dog which had bitten five villagers (including a child) to the Veterinary Corps in Landstuhl, Germany to see if the dog had rabies. It did turn out to be rabid, and the soldiers were able to provide appropriate medical care to the bitten villagers.
This is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg; there is so much more good news from Iraq which has regrettably been ignored, and must now be given the attention it deserves. Fortunately, several 'new media' and talk radio outlets have done a consistently excellent job of getting the word out on the positive developments in the region, and still more information should come to light in the future as the improving situation gives the mainstream media less bad news to report from Iraq. Given the Left's constant harping on Abu Ghraib, Haditha, and this latest incident-the latter two of the three still being far from proven-it is supremely important that Americans be presented with the good news from Iraq, and given the information necessary to understand that the positives in that nation not only outweigh the bad, but that they do so overwhelmingly.
