Thursday, August 18, 2005

A Little Good News from Iraq

The State Department reports on some good news from Iraq here. An obvious counter to the reports of casualties, kidnappings and explosions we hear on a daily basis, but welcomed nonetheless. Here's the gist of the article...

1. Contracts have been awarded for the renovation of Forty-three schools in the northern and southern provinces.

2. 1,000 children have received medical screenings since the middle of July.

3. An International Press Center was turned over to Iraq's Communications Directorate, completely furnished, with office resources such as computers, copiers etc.

4. A Water Distribution project finished in Baghdad that will furnish fresh water for at least 2,000 families.

5. Renovations on the Najaf Maternity Hospital will be finished by December 25.

Unfortunately these good reports are rare. The reconstruction is ongoing but the progress is slow, mostly because of security. At least one third of the money that's delegated for these projects will go towards providing security for the workers. We just don't have enough troops to do it so it's outsourced. It's my dream that soon we will get less and less bad news and more news of the reconstruction in Iraq. This would be a clear sign that security in Iraq is getting better...but I am a dreamer.

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