Guaranteed Health Care In Iraq - But Not For You

You'd better sit down, folks.

Article 31 of the Iraqi Constitution, drafted by your right-wing Bushies in 2005 and ratified by the Iraqi people, includes state-guaranteed (single payer) healthcare for life for every Iraqi citizen.

Article 31 reads:

"First: Every citizen has the right to health care. The State shall maintain public health and provide the means of prevention and treatment by building different types of hospitals and health institutions.

Second: Individuals and entities have the right to build hospitals, clinics,or private health care centers under the supervision of the State, and this shall be regulated by law."

There are other health care guarantees, including special provisions for children, the elderly, and the handicapped elsewhere in the 43-page document.

Under force of arms, President Bush imposed his particular idea of democracy on a people not asking for it - perhaps a noble undertaking in one context and a criminal violation of international law in another. Bush's followers are proud of the Iraqi Constitution, a model for the world, they told us.

So, according to the American political right-wing, government-guaranteed health care is good for Iraqis, but not good for us. Not good for you. They decry even a limited public option for you, but gleefully imposed upon the Iraqis what they label here as "socialism," with much Democratic Party member support.

Indeed, reading the Iraqi Constitution so near to the 8th anniversary of September 11, 2001 is instructive. It is the very definition of American right-wing hypocrisy.

We have (thus far) sacrificed more blood to wrest Iraq from tyranny than we lost on 9/11. In addition, according to the Congressional Research Service, as of May 15, 2009 (Report 7-5700/RL33110) we have spent and/or authorized $864 Billion in military operations on Operation Enduring Freedom, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan. The overwhelming majority of those funds have been for the war in Iraq. Additional secret funding has been authorized for intelligence and special operations.

The total is more than (or, in the worst case, equal to) the funding required to guarantee minimally decent health care here.

In other words, the most senior members of the Republican establishment - and some Democrats like Max Baucus (D-MT) - have gladly spent more taxpayer funds to ensure health care as a Constitutional right in Iraq than they are willing to spend to give you any level of guaranteed coverage.

The source document I used is from the official United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. If you'd like to download and review the full Iraqi Constitution, click HERE

This news is an example of the benefit of our online viral information age. The situation was first called to my attention late yesterday (September 8) by a long-term blogger, Korkie Moore-Bruno, on a think tank list of Obama supporters. Korkie posted an alert from her Facebook friend Jubal Harshaw. Give them credit for the heads-up; all I've done was verify the rumor with the United Nations.

It would seem that U. S. citizens might find out if their Representative and/or Senators have supported or voted to fund the war in Iraq. If so, do they support health care as a civil right for you?

If the answers to those questions are "yes" and "no," respectively, you might consider less hypocritical representation.

Comments

[Lalatda]

Mr Dorlester, Can you send me where I can find the fact that Bush drafted Iraqi Constitution? I'm in a debate over this and would like a link to show clearly that Bushey had a direct hand in this, Thank you, Maggie

[Truth Wins]

WOW!

While I saw several posts from bloggers that America ensured hc for Iraqis but not for Americans I wasn't sure if that was true since they didn't provide a link.

Now I do know it's true and I spread the word including link to this article!

[jjoshaugh]

America! You should be proud to have sent your sons and daughters to fight, get wounded and die for peoples right to universal health care! Everyone take a bow! I salute you

*Plays star spangled banner"

[n311go]

I know it's not as fun, but, can we just focus on a little history to water down the intense, left-wing, neener-neener rhetoric in this ridiculous article???

The Iraqi Constitution was drafted to replace the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period (TAL). The TAL was drafted by the Iraqi Governing Council which consisted of non-right-wing, non-American, non-Bushie, Iraqis.

The TAL included the "right" to health care. Not really a surprise that the new Iraqi Constitution included it as well. It wasn't Bushies who established the "right."

Even if all of these ~nonsensical~ facts above were not true, would we really be led to believe that the "Bushies" acted completely independent of Iraqi leadership when drafting the constitution? Let's be realistic, just for a second.

To be clear, I would decry such acts if they were true; be they by Bushies, Barackies, Iraqis, or otherwise. Health Care is not a basic right and government administration is never the answer.

...good thing I was sitting down.

[Mark Dorlester - Huffpost Blogger]

Ahhh, it's so good to see a dreamer on the right.

Every word of The TAL draft and the final Iraqi Constitution was explicitly approved if not physically written by the occupying authority, just as were the Japanese an German constitutions after WWII. As I explained below, the draft and final Iraqi documents contained the strictly-American requirements for religious and cultural freedom and a host of like provisions. I recommend n311go read the actual document.

I wonder if n311go believes that even Darth Vader would take our nation to war under false pretenses and then let the occupied power run away with it's own post-war supreme law? I believe Bush and especially Cheney may have been criminals or evil, but I don't believe they were stupid.

[salinebayou]

Health Care is a right in all industrial countries except for one. Guess which one. How is it that we choose to link our Health Care through our employer? Why not link our car insurance and home owners insurance through our employer also?

[SallijaneG]

According to the United States Constitution, "We the People of the United States, in order to . . . promote the general Welfare . . . do ordain and establish this Constitution". If that doesn't include affordable access to health care, what does it include? Means, public/private, etc., are all negotiable to a point, but one thing "the general welfare" certainly DOES NOT include, IMHO, is rationing for profit. That's why I am a single-payer, nonprofit-­healthcare­-system supporter.
A professional healthcare decision should never be trumped by a Wall Street business decision, and according to President Obama's longtime doctor, David Scheiner, private insurance, not Medicare, was the system that interfered most with Dr. Scheiner's medical decisions. He also is quoted as saying “If I had to say the single one thing which is the worst part of it [Obama plan], is that private insurers continue to be a part of the health scheme. Everybody keeps saying we don’t want the government getting involved in health care. [But] the government is involved in Medicare, and it works.”
(quotations found at www.pnhp.org).

[peachfuzz]

Soooo... the catch is that all the health care is given by the US military hospitals? :)

[AvangionQ]

More hypocrisy from our democracy -- the difference here being, the Iraqis don't have bloated insurance corporations buying their lawmakers vote ... that won't change until we unleash the Department of Justice and start calling large scale single source campaign contributions for what they are -- bribery ...

[anixmander]

You know, even a cursory search of the internet will tell you that the Bush Administration had pretty much nothing to do with drafting the document in question. While they did take part in selecting the members of the advisory committee, they had no actual part in writing it.

And considering Bush's religious beliefs, do you honestly think he'd have allowed his people to make Islam the state religion?

[AntiVIgilante]

Can you imagine:
Islam for Iraq but not for the US?

[Mark Dorlester - Huffpost Blogger]

Apples and oranges. True, the Bushies didn't write the entire text and might not (or might have) included Islam if they had. But the reports I saw indicated they outlined the core provisions.

[Mark Dorlester - Huffpost Blogger]

Let me be more specific. (1) The interim Iraqi constitution was a US draft. (2) The Iraqi committee that drafted the final constitution, starting from the US interim draft, wanted such things as Shariah law and a single Iraqi culture and language, to the exclusion, e.g., of the Kurds. The US vetoed these moves. The US insisted on provisions such as "No law may be enacted that violates the principles of democracy" [Article 2, Section 1B] and This Constitution guarantees ... the full religious rights to freedom of religious belief and practice of all individuals such as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean Sabeans." [Article 2, Section 2]. Even a cursory search of the internet will tell you that your comment is incorrect.

[arktig]

Good article at an appropriate time.
Thanks.

[feepness]

We have a method of modifying our Constitution.

Perhaps if we are interested in making health care a right we should pursue that avenue first.

This would eliminate a lot of arguing.

[AntiVIgilante]

You can't make rights. You can only discover them. Just how clueless are you people.

It shouldn't Congress shall give health care. It should be Congress shall not deny health care.

But you wannabe liberals don't know the difference. Go back to school, a private one this time.

[Mark Dorlester - Huffpost Blogger]

Perhaps you know a way of modifying our Constitution of which I'm not aware. The last Amendment, the simple Equal Rights Amendment in the late 1970s, failed after years and years of arguing. And if we are going to Amend the Constitution - which I'd love to see - how about just one Amendment providing for public financing of all federal elections. That one would take care of health care, the environment, the coal lobby, on and on in one swipe.

[Judy Stiller]

That's what I'm talking about! Get to the root of the problem! Give every canidate the same amout of money and tell him/her good luck. Stop the bribery!

[Truth Wins]

Fully agreed.

[huanglongbing]

My favorite part of the "constitution" ( is that really the final draft?) is

Article 73:
The President of the Republic shall assume the following powers:.
Seventh: To issue Presidential decrees..

what is the scope of a "presidential decree"? hmm, they are not defined in the constitution; sounds like a fun job, issuing decrees.

[serven123]

I think we need to push this point and bring it to press....i­mmediately­.

[peacegurl48]

Perhaps if the American people had OIL we'd also have healthcare...what an outrage.

GREED OVER PEOPLE...GOP

[toppermost]

republicans, being hypocritical? no!

[VocalVet]

I have no problem giving you all Iraqi Healthcare.