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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (221704)	3/3/2005 9:56:32 AM
From: Elroy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573902

Well as for whether things are getting better or not, my take is probably getting better. You've gotta remember if there is one major terrorist attack per day, the vast majority of the Iraqi population have zero direct exposure to it. Its like when the homes in California were falling into the sink hole a week or two ago, the USA was not in a "state of chaos". Most Americans didn't feel anything about the destroyed homes of a few. I get the feeling that as time passes and the coalition gets less and less in control that whatever support exists will fade. I could be wrong in this view, but the endgame for the insurgents is likely death - that's not a very good recruiting tool.

To: Road Walker who wrote (221704)	3/3/2005 9:58:02 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573902

Hi John, Re: Anyway, this discussion started over the question, "are things getting better in Iraq?". My point is that at best we don't know. Many observers disagree. Lets look at a few parameters, shall we? Category \| As of Three Years Ago vs. Today Electricity: March, 2002: Service 24/7 without interruptions March, 2005: Sporadic service throughout the country. In Baghdad neighborhoods have service for as little as two hours per day on no set schedule, making normal tasks such as typing out emails extremely frustrating. Retail Gasoline: 2002: Subsidized fuel readily available, no waiting lines at service stations. 2005: Huge daily lines several kilometers long is the norm at government controlled stations. Black market operations at high prices relieve part of the strain on the intentionally broken system. Potable Water: 2002: Scattered rural areas suffer from poor water conditions 2005: The preponderance of potable water systems are malfunctioning. Sewerage: 2002: Scattered areas suffer from inadequate sewage treatment 2005: War damage plus inadequate reconstruction create vast areas of the country with raw sewage either standing on the surface or flowing into rivers untreated. Employment: 2002: Fewer than 10% of the population are under- or unemployed. 2005: More than 50% of the population is unemployed, state industries are struggling to maintain their existence. ** There are many other parameters to consider, but in nearly every instance, the people of Iraq are certainly worse off in every category other than political repression by the Ba'ath Party. And even there, the CPA and the Iraqi governing authorities still censor the media and prevent any public discussion in newspapers about the necessity to end the illegal occupation.