Last weekend, The Washington Post reported that acute malnutrition among children in Iraq has doubled since before the US invasion in March of 2003. That is just one statistic, out of many, that paints a disturbing picture of the US occupation. After reading press dispatches, think-tank reports and public opinion polling, The Daily Outrage compiled this sampling of the facts on the ground. …
Infrastructure
** Of the $18.4 billion in reconstruction funds allocated last year by Congress, the US has spent only $1.7 billion.
** Nationwide electricity levels are down 25 percent since the prewar days, and 66 percent lower in Baghdad.
** The value of the Iraqi currency–the Dinar–dropped 25 percent compared to the US dollar in the past year (which didn’t have a great year itself!)
Iraqi Public Opinion
** Only 33 percent of Iraqis think they’re better off now than before the war, as a Gallup poll discovered.
** According to military statistics, the number of insurgents has quadrupled since last year, from 5,000 to 20,000. A British general places the insurgency at 40-50,000 fighters.