The Military Minute: Reconstruction Boom in Iraq

We all have heard by now about the reduced level of violence in Iraq despite the mainstream media's reluctance to report on it. Iraq is largely ignored in the media because Americans are not dying left and right every day. You'd think the media would want to report on the successes we've had there, but anything that could possibly give credit to President George W. Bush is verboten.

It is my intention to provide a weekly dose of success in Iraq. This blog may not get the exposure of Fox News or CNN but it needs to start somewhere. If you like what you read, send a link to the various posts to your friends. Let's spread the word.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Gulf Region Division (GRD) is responsible for all of the reconstruction projects in Iraq. GRD-managed construction projects employ 25,000 to 30,000 Iraqis per day and approximately 75% of it's active contracts are awarded to Iraqi businesses. Since January 2004, 4,400 Iraqi construction projects valued at nearly $7 billion have been completed. The GRD's reconstruction projects are providing Iraqis essential services such as water, energy, education, security, health care facilities and transportation.

Some of the GRD's specific successes are as follows:

• expansion of the electrical power plant at Qudas, north of Baghdad (providing power to an additional 180,000 homes)
• turning over 132 health clinics and 41 hospitals to the Iraqi Ministry of Health
• building or renovating over 1,100 schools
• renovating dormitories, classrooms and the auditorium at a 1,400-student vocational school in Iskandaria, south of Baghdad

Our military is making life significantly better than it ever was for the Iraqis while at the same time fighting insurgents who abhor democracy and freedom.

I guarantee you that if we got a daily dose of this kind of good news from the mainstream media, the poll numbers of the people who not only think the war in Iraq is going well, but actually support the war, would go up dramatically.

History will be the judge of this war and I personally think it will be kind.

Source: Department of Defense