During a superb line of questioning today, Senator Menendez (D-NJ) ran through a damning laundry list of how our invasion and subsequent reconstruction billions have actually worsened the plight of average Iraqis.
Download 
Download Some of Menendez's figures are downright infuriating. This is what $25 billion has gotten us:
- 43% of population lives in absolute poverty
- prior to war 19% of children suffered malnutrition; today 28%
- last year 75% elementary-aged kids went to school; now 30%
- prior to war 50% lacked access to clean water; now 70%
- only 50 of 142 primary health care centes are open to public
Ambassador Crocker's response is exactly what you would expect:
"Security conditions made it difficult to bring projects to closure in a timely fashion."
What a tangled web we weave.
