Let’s cut to the chase. Iraq, despite the security issues, is starting to thrive. The International edition of Newsweek reported in their December 25th, 2006 to January 1st, 2007 issue:
- 2 years ago, Iraqi cell phones numbered 1.4 Million. Today there are 7.1 Million.
- 3 years ago, Iraq had 8,000 registered companies. Today there are 34,000.
- GDP in Iraq grew 17% in 2005 and projections are for 13% in 2006.
- Income tax has gone from 45% under Saddam to 15% and Iraqi’s are spending.
To quote some of the article:
Consider some less formal indicators. Perhaps the most pervasive is the horrendous Iraqi traffic jams. Roadside bombs account for fewer backups than the sheer number of secondhand cars that have crowded onto the nation’s roads—five times as many in Baghdad as before the war. Cheap Chinese goods overflow from shop shelves, and store owners report quick turnover. Real-estate prices have risen several hundred percent, suggesting that Iraqis are more optimistic about the future than most Americans are.
That last sentence is quite telling. And all this from Newsweek, which is typically considered a left leaning publication.
So Iraq is thriving. What does this mean? It means that despite what Americans think about the war, the nation is going through some major pains while it grows.
The withdrawal of a certain great power could drastically reduce the foreign money flow, and knock the crippled economy flat.
Could George Bush be right? Could Iraq be a thriving western style nation under the right conditions? We may never find out with the Democrats taking control of both houses. The biggest complaint by the Democrats is that American soldiers are dying.
Some statistics. The number of casualties in 45 months since the war began is 3017. That comes out to just over 800 a year. In the four calendar years from 2001 to 2004 inclusive the average number of road deaths in the USA was over 42,000 a year. But do the car crash safety ratings get the air time that the war in Iraq gets? Not even close. Iraq is in the news every newscast, every day, every week. In my opinion, the war fatigue just caught up with Americans and we can thank the MSM for continuing to report every single death in Iraq numerous times and rarely, if ever, reporting statistics about how the nation has changed and is thriving under new government.
God help the Iraqi people once the Americans leave.
Locomotion by Kylie Minogue. I didn’t hear boo from the Australian pop star for 15 or 20 years until a week or two ago.
which taught me a lot about investing. It taught me the value of life insurance. It taught me the value of dollar cost averaging and it taught me the value of diversification so that when a particular sector gets hit for ANY reason, the savings don’t get completely wiped out.