"A YEAR IN IRAQ" vs. "IRAQ WEEKLY STATUS" (Dept. of State)

I was scanning USAid's report, "A Year in Iraq", and the "Top 10 Achievements" from April 2003 through March 2004 are listed below with some personal notes or references to the State Department's "Iraq Weekly Status" (9/1/04) report:

1. Prevented humanitarian emergency -- delivered 575,000 metric tons of wheat, reforming public distribution system.

["The Public Distribution System food pipeline shows possible shortfalls in all commodities over the course of the next four months." Ed.: In fact, a chart included in the weekly report seems to show zero stocks of everything beginning in October. It's creepy looking.]

2. Created local and city governments at more than 600 communities.

3. Restarted schools

[ed.:they were open until we bombed them]

-- Fixed

[ed.: repainted]

2,500 schools; textbooks to 8.7 million students, supplies to 3.3 million;

[ed.: it's amazing that we could rewrite and reprint their textbooks so quickly, but we don't have enough Arabic translators for the embassy or our troops]

trained 33,000 teachers.

[ed.:if we could train teachers this fast in the U.S.A. it would be called "diploma millism" -- I'm assuming this really means "indoctrinated"]

4. Vaccinated 3.3 million children-- Equipping 600 primary health clinics and rehabilitated 60 others.

[ed.: we vaccinated them against everything against depleted uranium, rocket and mortar fire]

5. Providing safe water -- Expanding Baghdad water purification plant and rehabilitating 27 water and sewage plants.

["Current Projects: The rehabilitation of two wastewater treatment plants in Baghdad continues. These plants will treat nearly 75 percent of the wastewater flow from Baghdad municipality ONCE COMPLETE.]

6. Re-opened deep water port -- Dredged Umm Qasr, repaired equpment. Today it handles 140,000 tons of cargo a month.

7. Restoring electric service -- Repaired eight major power plants with CPA, adding 2,100 megawatts by summer 2004.

[ed.: This is a good one. According to the State Dept. report, the most electrical service provided over a seven-day period to any part of the map was 16 hours (two provinces). Two provinces were listed as "no report" and most of the country was listed as having equal to or less than eight hours. That's in a seven-day period, folks!!!]

8. Helped CPA launch new currency and re-establish Central Bank.

9. Reviving the Marshlands.

10. Established Good Governance -- Budgeting, accounting systems add transparency, accountability to ministries.

About the last three items, I'm near speechless. HONEST BANKING? ENVIRONMENTAL RESURGENCE? TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY? Don't you believe it -- those things were set up by BushCo, and they don't know anything about those issues. If Bush&Co call something "Reviving the Marshlands," then it's bound to mean "Destroying beyond any possibility of restoration." "Good Governance" is more likely to mean "Our Friends & We Govern and You Submit."

There are many more pages about oil production in the State Dept.'s weekly report than about security, health, or any of the other issues most important to Iraqis. There's even as much about the new Iraqi stock exchange (gosh! it traded $2 million worth!).

Sure wish we could count on some mainstream media doing some actual reporting about the discrepancies between what we publicize and what we've actually accomplished. You know, someone whose job it actually is, and has time to devote?