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He's no Smedley Butler...,
2003-11-25 00:16:38
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"albiet deplorable"...,
2003-11-25 16:57:22
the numbers that shape your imperial conquest:
the Brookings Institution's Iraq Index is an interesting piece of work, though they don't cite sources for most of it. "Civilians in Baghdad Killed in Questionable Circumstances by U.S. Troops" between May and September: 104. The annualized homicide rate in Baghdad per 100,000 Citizens increased from 99 to 143 in the same period (with a peak of 187 in August). The picture is fairly mixed, given the ideological framework (target goals are sparingly above pre-war levels - this could hardly be called "reconstruction" until Iraq recovers from the damage of Bush Sr.'s Gulf War and sanctions), but at least the water infrastructure is starting to come back online (imagine half a litre of potable water available per person in a stinking desert - that's where they were at - what with no chlorine or water pumps - and they're still not up to 1:1 per capita litres). What would be appropriate in such a study would be to include levels for 1990, as "pre-war" doesn't really mean pre-war, it means post-12 years of sanctions, crackdowns, and daily coalition bombing. Maybe that doesn't meet your standards for "war", but it sure as hell doesn't meet my standards of "peace".
:: posted by buermann @ 2003-11-25 03:06:29 CST |
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