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Victory in Iraq, peace in our time

Started by Cain, March 01, 2013, 04:21:01 PM

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Cain

So, a decade on, how are Iraqis recovering from the shock and awe of freedom?

http://mondediplo.com/2013/03/02iraq

QuoteThe new regime seems to have slipped in to the shoes of the former. Officials squat in the opulent residences of their predecessors, whose era they claimed they were ending. Almost no infrastructure has been built in Baghdad over the past 10 years, except the local government headquarters, the road to the airport and a few flyovers. Traffic police shelters at crossroads are stamped "gift from the town hall", recalling the "donations" (makarim) of Saddam: a personalised substitute for what should be provided anonymously by the state. Public service salaries remain insufficient, driving employees to find supplementary sources of income, legal or not. High-level corruption is tolerated, documented and used as leverage when necessary. Pervasive social climbing, nepotism and incompetence are poisoning institutions.

The Republican Palace in the heart of Baghdad became the "green zone" when the US made it the nerve centre of the occupation, and it embodies the worst of the new order just as it did the old. This huge, fairly well secured area is an exclusive political arena, a place of privilege, and a world that does its best to keep everyone else out. A whole deck of access cards defines a new elite, and a position within its hierarchy. The closure of the Karrada-Mansour main road, which cuts through the green zone, forces ordinary people to make ridiculously long detours. It would be feasible to reopen it, but that is not the issue: the green zone seems to have become the inalienable privilege of a caste that values not having to answer to anyone.

Oh.  Well, at least Afghanistan is doing better....

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/03/01/commentary/afghanistans-legacy-of-child-opium-addiction/

QuoteA report just released by the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan states that there were 2,754 civilian deaths and 4,805 civilian injuries in that country during 2012. Unmentioned is a serious side effect of the conflict: the high number of opium-addicted children in Afghanistan.

The number has increased systematically the past few years.

The situation is not limited to Afghanistan. Children are affected in Pakistan as well. In Karachi alone, there are tens of thousands of child addicts most of who receive no care or support. New and more effective policies are needed to address this situation.

A study conducted in Afghanistan showed that in 25 percent of homes where adult addicts lived there were signs of significant drug exposure in the children tested, some as young as 14 months. The children exhibited typical behavior for opium-heroin addicts: experiencing withdrawal when the drug was removed.

Not only were opium products found in indoor air samples, but the concentrations were extremely high.

This suggests that, as happens with secondhand cigarette smoke, contaminated indoor air and surfaces pose a serious risk to children's health.

The extent of health problems in children as a result of such exposure is not known. What is known is that the number of adult drug users has increased from 920,000 in 2005 to over 1.5 million in 2010, according to Zalmai Afzali, spokesman for the Ministry of Counter-Narcotics in Afghanistan. A quarter of those users are thought to be women and children.

If current trends continue, Afghanistan could become the world's top drug-using nation on a per capita basis.

So, hey, how about that Mali intervention....at least Al-Qaeda got driven out.

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=49937

QuoteViolence has flared once again in the troubled West African nation of Mali. Heavy fighting between French forces and rebels have erupted anew in northern Mali, as a suicide car bombing killed six government allies in the city of Kidal. A hospital source reported that seven people were dead, which included the bomber, with another 11 wounded.

:x

LMNO

How many times do we have to watch this show before we decide to change the channel?

Cain

But we haven't even been to Syria yet.

The road to Tehran lies through Damascus, didn't you know?

The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: Cain on March 01, 2013, 04:25:19 PM
But we haven't even been to Syria yet.

The road to Tehran lies through Damascus, didn't you know?

Yeah, we can't make payroll, but we can interfere in the business of others.

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- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Junkenstein

Also not mention - More fun with rockets and shit with Hamas and Israel and the new glorious age of Egyptian and Libyan freedom.

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P3nT4gR4m

Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on March 01, 2013, 04:24:38 PM
How many times do we have to watch this show before we decide to change the channel?

Unfortunately for us, the guys with the remote control think it's the best thing since Everybody Loves Raymond

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