Brad DeLong asks a necessary question:
We've spent $10,000 per Iraqi on the war, and we can't even get Iraqi children fed?You might think that would be a post-war priority. Not, apparently, with our current leaders.
The article to which DeLong links includes a chilling quote:
“Believe me, we thought a magic thing would happen” with the fall of Hussein and the start of the U.S.-led occupation, said an administrator at Baghdad’s Central Teaching Hospital for Pediatrics. “So we’re surprised that nothing has been done. And people talk now about how the days of Saddam were very nice,” the official said. (emphasis added)Yet, people wonder where the celebrations and roses are. Water, food, and electricity are priorities for people.
We knew that. Or at least should have known it. The fact that we reportedly continue to fail to provide these necessities makes our nation's situation grow more dangerous by the day.
Update: Eric Alterman adds:
So the next time some one asks you if you’re glad that we’ve removed Saddam Hussein from power, you might want to ask them if they’re glad that, after we’ve spent 200 billion dollars and killed tens of thousands of people, 400,000 Iraqi children are now suffering from acute malnutrition. That and oh yeah, the world hates us and the pool of Al Qaeda recruits has been vastly increased.
Leave a comment