CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Good News from Iraq: 18 Mar 2008

From Badgers Forward, Five Years Burning Down the Road.

I ... receive[d] an email from the Army Office of Public Affairs asking me to share the following information. Now normally when publishing information like this I would post a link to document it, however the Office of Public Affairs did not provide one to an official site. I checked the Gulf Region Division Press Releases and could not find one that listed this, so my assumption is that I get to be the primary resource for this data.

The U.S. Army released its latest figures on the relief and reconstruction efforts in Iraq, in the lead up to the five-year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

-- The U.S. Army has rehabilitated and constructed nearly 1,100 schools, providing classrooms for more than 324,000 students.

-- By early 2009, Army projects will have completed 137 new primary healthcare centers that will serve a population of 5 to 6.5 million Iraqis.

-- A strong emphasis is placed on training and education to better prepare the Iraqi people to manage and sustain their infrastructure.

-- An estimated 4.1 million more Iraqis now have access to clean, drinkable water that they didn't have before.

-- Cities like Fallujah have their first sewage treatment plant. Before 2003, raw sewage in most of Iraq was discharged into rivers and waterways.

The nation-building programs are having a real impact on the lives of Iraqis by helping to jumpstart the country in several critical areas including education, healthcare, security, infrastructure, democracy programs and training.

Check out this downloadable video for an inside look at these efforts to strengthen and rebuild the country.