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.
Writings 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
