Iraq
Progresses To Some Of Its Worst
By
Dahr Jamail
30 December,
2007
Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON,
Dec 29 (IPS) - Despite all the claims of improvements, 2007
has been the worst year yet in Iraq.
One of the
first big moves this year was the launch of a troop "surge"
by the U.S. government in mid-February. The goal was to improve security
in Baghdad and the western al-Anbar province, the two most violent areas.
By June, an additional 28,000 troops had been deployed to Iraq, bringing
the total number up to more than 160,000.
By autumn,
there were over 175,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq. This is the
highest number of U.S. troops deployed yet, and while the U.S. government
continues to talk of withdrawing some, the numbers on the ground appear
to contradict these promises.
The Bush
administration said the "surge" was also aimed at curbing
sectarian killings, and to gain time for political reform for the government
of U.S.-backed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
During the
surge, the number of Iraqis displaced from their homes quadrupled, according
to the Iraqi Red Crescent. By the end of 2007, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there are over 2.3
million internally displaced persons within Iraq, and over 2.3 million
Iraqis who have fled the country.
Iraq has
a population around 25 million.
The non-governmental
organisation Refugees International describes Iraq's refugee problem
as "the world's fastest growing refugee crisis."
In October
the Syrian government began requiring visas for Iraqis. Until then it
was the only country to allow Iraqis in without visas. The new restrictions
have led some Iraqis to return to Baghdad, but that number is well below
50,000.
A recent
UNHCR survey of families returning found that less than 18 percent did
so by choice. Most came back because they lacked a visa, had run out
of money abroad, or were deported.
Sectarian
killings have decreased in recent months, but still continue. Bodies
continue to be dumped on the streets of Baghdad daily.
One reason
for a decrease in the level of violence is that most of Baghdad has
essentially been divided along sectarian lines. Entire neighbourhoods
are now surrounded by concrete blast walls several metres high, with
strict security checkpoints. Normal life has all but vanished.
The Iraqi
Red Crescent estimates that eight out of ten refugees are from Baghdad.
By the end
of 2007, attacks against occupation forces decreased substantially,
but still number more than 2,000 monthly. Iraqi infrastructure, like
supply of potable water and electricity are improving, but remain below
pre-invasion levels. Similarly with jobs and oil exports. Unemployment,
according to the Iraqi government, ranges between 60-70 percent.
An Oxfam
International report released in July says 70 percent of Iraqis lack
access to safe drinking water, and 43 percent live on less than a dollar
a day. The report also states that eight million Iraqis are in need
of emergency assistance.
"Iraqis
are suffering from a growing lack of food, shelter, water and sanitation,
healthcare, education, and employment," the report says. "Of
the four million Iraqis who are dependent on food assistance, only 60
percent currently have access to rations through the government-run
Public Distribution System (PDS), down from 96 percent in 2004."
Nearly 10
million people depend on the fragile rationing system. In December,
the Iraqi government announced it would cut the number of items in the
food ration from ten to five due to "insufficient funds and spiralling
inflation." The inflation rate is officially said to be around
70 percent.
The cuts
are to be introduced in the beginning of 2008, and have led to warnings
of social unrest if measures are not taken to address rising poverty
and unemployment.
Iraq's children
continue to suffer most. Child malnutrition rates have increased from
19 percent during the economic sanctions period prior to the invasion,
to 28 percent today.
This year
has also been one of the bloodiest of the entire occupation. The group
Just Foreign Policy, "an independent and non-partisan mass membership
organisation dedicated to reforming U.S. foreign policy," estimates
the total number of Iraqis killed so far due to the U.S.-led invasion
and occupation to be 1,139,602.
This year
894 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq, making 2007 the deadliest
year of the entire occupation for the U.S. military, according to ICasualties.org.
To date,
at least 3,896 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq, according to the
U.S. Department of Defence.
A part of
the U.S. military's effort to reduce violence has been to pay former
resistance fighters. Late in 2007, the U.S. military began paying monthly
wages of 300 dollars to former militants, calling them now "concerned
local citizens."
While this
policy has cut violence in al-Anbar, it has also increased political
divisions between the dominant Shia political party and the Sunnis –
the majority of these "concerned citizens" being paid are
Sunni Muslims. Prime Minister Maliki has said these "concerned
local citizens" will never be part of the government's security
apparatus, which is predominantly composed of members of various Shia
militias.
Underscoring
another failure of the so-called surge is the fact that the U.S.-backed
government in Baghdad remains more divided than ever, and hopes of reconciliation
have vanished.
According
to a recent ABC/BBC poll, 98 percent of Sunnis and 84 percent of Shias
in Iraq want all U.S. forces out of the country.
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