Hard to call Iraq a failure at this point.

[MrLabGuy]

Forget the fact that their last election had more participation country wide than our American elections with almost no violence. Now this ->

http://www.reuters.com/article/world...rpc=22&sp=true

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Romance is in the air in Baghdad as war-weary Iraqis celebrate Valentine's Day after a sharp drop in violence, allowing lovers to cautiously hold hands in parks and to buy gifts for their sweethearts. Public courtship and more daring clothing for women are increasing after years of growing intolerance, perhaps signaling the Islamic dogma and conservatism that accompanied Iraq's slide into sectarian slaughter may be losing their grip. "You cannot imagine how happy I am today," said Usama Abdul-Wahab Khatab, a recent university graduate nestled beside his girlfriend at a riverside Baghdad park. A year earlier, the park shook to the sounds of artillery fire that rained on the U.S. diplomatic and military Green Zone complex across the river, launched by religious militias whose reign also kept unmarried men and women apart. Although Iraq is predominantly Muslim, celebration of an originally Western day for lovers became popular after the ouster of Saddam Hussein in the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. But many Iraqis also fled the violence unleashed by the U.S.-led invasion. When Khatab went to Syria several years ago, he left behind not just his studies and friends, but Nada Issam, the soft-spoken woman who now sits beside him with manicured nails and a delicate sequined headscarf. Khatab returned a year ago and the couple has been venturing out to places where they can spend time alone -- in green areas by the Tigris or along the shores of a nearby a lake. Even there they must fend off or bribe police who hassle them for being too close or for holding hands. Like other Iraqis, they are caught between a desire for greater freedom and romantic expression, and a conservative Islamic culture brought to the fore in six years of war. When religious militias and insurgents controlled swathes of Baghdad, men found with women before marriage were whipped, and the woman taken to her parents, Abbas Jawad said. "My son is spending Valentine's Day with his girlfriend. He's 16. I would never have allowed that before," he said. Technology out of reach or not yet in existence under Saddam has enabled many Iraqis to discreetly widen their social circles or flirt. Bluetooth radio signals on most modern phones allow people to subtly send messages to strangers sitting nearby.

CHANGING STYLES

Even secular Iraqis once dressed conservatively to avoid militant ire, but clothes are now tighter and shorter, shrinking in line with militia power following government crackdowns. Global trends are beamed into Iraq by satellite television. Husam al-Din Ali picked a miniskirt -- black satin with bright gold studs and a long metallic chain -- off a rack at one of the women's clothing shops he owns in Baghdad and brandished it as proof Iraqi women can now dress more suggestively. In Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood this Valentine's Day, shop windows were crowded with giant red teddy bears and stuffed hearts reading "Forever in Love." Yet cultural changes occur slowly and unevenly in Iraq, where people fear a resurgence in violence and attitudes toward romance, marriage and sex vary widely. In one perfume store, a middle-aged man watched as the shopkeeper pasted a gold-trimmed bow on a gift he bought for his wife. Things aren't good enough for him to take her out in the evening. "We'll have dinner at home," he sighed. Changes bring their own problems for some Iraqi men, too. "The girls have changed the way they dress so much. It's so good now it hurts," said Mohened Tha'far who, with no date lined up for Valentines Day, sat gazing at girls walking by. Maythem Alaa and Ahmed Salman, dressed in tight jeans and shirts and with perfectly coiffed hair, were also frustrated. "Love is tiring," said Alaa. "We've been walking round and round trying to catch those two's attention for ages now, but no luck," said Salman, pointing to a pair of fashionably dressed girls in the distance.

[Eric5273]

It's just a peaceful paradise there.

Just in the past 10 days:

February 15th

Bomb attacks wound five people in N Iraq

Roadside bomb kills US soldier in Iraq


February 13th

Female suicide bomber kills 40 in Iraq


February 12th

Pilgrims die in Iraq bomb attack
At least eight people have been killed and 56 others wounded in a bomb attack targeting pilgrims in Iraq


February 5th

Iraq bomb kills 15 ahead of poll results




And for their wonderful elections:

Iraqi election commission acknowledges fraud

[MrLabGuy]

Originally Posted by Eric5273

It's just a peaceful paradise there.

Just in the past 10 days:

February 15th

Bomb attacks wound five people in N Iraq

Roadside bomb kills US soldier in Iraq


February 13th

Female suicide bomber kills 40 in Iraq


February 12th

Pilgrims die in Iraq bomb attack
At least eight people have been killed and 56 others wounded in a bomb attack targeting pilgrims in Iraq


February 5th

Iraq bomb kills 15 ahead of poll results




And for their wonderful elections:

Iraqi election commission acknowledges fraud

LOL...How many Americans were killed in the USA in the last 10 days due to violence? And we're not in a war.

As for the election fraud...Look at Chicago alone Obama's home State.

[Lambeau]

Cmon Eric, How many Americans are murdered each day in America??? I'll bet it's more than in Iraq!!! Yep, keep with the liberals and continue to call it a failure...

[blondboinsd]

Originally Posted by Lambeau

Cmon Eric, How many Americans are murdered each day in America??? I'll bet it's more than in Iraq!!! Yep, keep with the liberals and continue to call it a failure...

Hey I've Been Calling Iraq a failure since the day they entered it. Bushie's ego war was never bought by me. I think it's a waste of money and it will go down in history as such.

And I'm hardly liberal, I just don't drink the kool-aid

[X5Dawg]

Such a negative attitude Eric...what happened to "Yes We Can"???

[Wagner]

NationMaster - American Crime statistics (stats from 98-2000)

US avgs 44 people murdered a day.

[Dannyell]

U.S. SPENDING IN IRAQ
Spent & Approved War-Spending - About $800 billion of US taxpayers' funds spent or approved for spending through mid-2009.
U.S. Monthly Spending in Iraq - $12 billion in 2008
U.S. Spending per Second - $5,000 in 2008 (per Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on May 5, 2008)
Cost of deploying one U.S. soldier for one year in Iraq - $390,000 (Congressional Research Service)
Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq - $9 billion of US taxpayers' money and $549.7 milion in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors. Also, per ABC News, 190,000 guns, including 110,000 AK-47 rifles.
Missing - $1 billion in tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces. (Per CBS News on Dec 6, 2007.)
Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq - $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings
Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported - $1.4 billion
Amount paid to KBR, a former Halliburton division, to supply U.S. military in Iraq with food, fuel, housing and other items - $20 billion
Portion of the $20 billion paid to KBR that Pentagon auditors deem "questionable or supportable" - $3.2 billion
Number of major U.S. bases in Iraq - 75 (The Nation/New York Times)
TROOPS IN IRAQ
Iraqi Troops Trained and Able to Function Independent of U.S. Forces - 6,000 as of May 2007 (per NBC's "Meet the Press" on May 20, 2007)
Troops in Iraq - Total 147,000, including 142,000 from the US, 4,100 from the UK, and 900 from all other nations
U.S. Troop Casualties - 4,245 US troops; 98% male. 91% non-officers; 82% active duty, 11% National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 9% African-American, 11% Latino. 19% killed by non-hostile causes. 54% of US casualties were under 25 years old. 72% were from the US Army
Non-U.S. Troop Casualties - Total 316, with 179 from the UK
US Troops Wounded - 31,035, 20% of which are serious brain or spinal injuries (total excludes psychological injuries)
US Troops with Serious Mental Health Problems - 30% of US troops develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home
US Military Helicopters Downed in Iraq - 68 total, at least 36 by enemy fire
IRAQI TROOPS, CIVILIANS & OTHERS IN IRAQ
Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops - More than 180,000 in August 2007, per The Nation/LA Times.
Journalists killed - 136, 92 by murder and 44 by acts of war
Journalists killed by US Forces - 14
Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed - 8,910
Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualties have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualities at over 600,000.
Iraqi Insurgents Killed, Roughly Estimated - 55,000
Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed - 557
Non-Iraqi Kidnapped - 306, including 57 killed, 147 released, 4 escaped, 6 rescued and 89 status unknown.
Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004 - 14
Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005 - 70
Daily Insurgent Attacks, May 2007 - 163
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Nov 2003 - 15,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Oct 2006 - 20,000 - 30,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, June 2007 - 70,000
QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS
Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,255,000
Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 2.1 million to 2.25 million
Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect
Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%
Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
Percent of professionals who have left Iraq since 2003 - 40%
Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion - 34,000
Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion - 12,000
Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion - 2,000
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 1 to 2 hours, per Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (Per Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007)
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 10.9 in May 2007
Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 5.6 in May 2007
Pre-War Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 16 to 24
Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems - 37%
Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies - 70% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated - 22%
RESULTS OF POLL Taken in Iraq in August 2005 by the British Ministry of Defense (Source: Brookings Institute)
Iraqis "strongly opposed to presence of coalition troops - 82%
Iraqis who believe Coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security - less than 1%
Iraqis who feel less ecure because of the occupation - 67%
Iraqis who do not have confidence in multi-national forces - 72%

[Dannyell]

Call Iraq whatever you want...but the way we started this war was wrong either way you put it.

Now that we have invested so much $ it would only make sense they would be doing better...

And Wagner 44 americans die each day...but can you really compare Iraq's population with ours??

[Eric5273]

13 times as many people live in the US. Adjust that statistic for population, and that means that Iraq should have 3-4 killed per day for them to have the same murder rate as the United States. And those articles above do not include things like normal murders. They include war-like attacks, bombings, etc.