The Other Surge in Iraq

There's another surge in Iraq that the president is not talking about. An outbreak of cholera is spreading across Iraq and the numbers are alarming. The World Health Organization says 14 Iraqis have died from cholera so far, but the threat is grave.

Already, cholera has been confirmed in 9 out of Iraq's 18 provinces. In Kirkuk Province, in northern Iraq, 500 cases of cholera have been confirmed in just the last six days. Across Iraq, WHO has confirmed over 3,300 cases of cholera, and 30,000 Iraqis have fallen sick.

As a medical doctor, let me explain that cholera is caused by human waste contaminating the water supply. In other words, the sewage treatment plants that we were supposed to fix, the sewage treatment plants that worked pre-war, are not working post-surge. And innocent Iraqis are suffering and dying as a result.

Cholera is the latest example of a failed war. Of course, these new Iraqi civilian casualties will not be counted by the President as he tries to convince the American people that they are wrong to want to leave Iraq and he is right in his intention to keep America at war in Iraq for the rest of his term, and long into the future.

Instead of talking about the surge, the president should be talking about the scourge of cholera and how it could have been prevented, if only he did not invade Iraq in the first place, or continue to evade the truth now.

Comments

[Norge]

You state "innocent" Iraqis' are dying from cholera.
Are there guilty Iraqis who should die from cholera?

[dadw5boys]

The Bush STATE DEPOARTMENT PERSONNEL handed out contracts. Build a Police Training Facility.
NO BUILDING CODES TO MEET!
SEWER CONNECTION OR SEPTIC TANK CONNECTIONS NOT REQUIRED.
$72 MILLION DOLLAR building setting UNINHABITABLE with HUMAN WASTE DRIPPING FROM THE CEILINGS.
California Contractor Built $ 5 million dollar building for $72 Million Dollars and wont fix the plumbing.
LOVE THOSE CAPITALIST.

[Ravenlea]

I am so ashamed of my country...­.

Thank you for making this public - or trying. Our media continues to fail on so many fronts. We get the important news about Brittany, Hilary Clinton's laugh and Rudy Guiliani's phone calls, but thousands dying because of our ineptitude is barely a blip on the national radar.

Why haven't we Impeached Bush and Cheney? What is wrong with us?

[Oijay]

The President should be impeached and tried for crimes against humanity!

[NoContest]

I have an idea, tell Pelosi....­.. she'll fix the problem.

NOT!

~

[dadw5boys]

Eventually cost of the Iraq War will drop drastically when there are no more Iraqi's in Iraq, this seems to be Bush's plan.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Remember at the outset of the whole thing, Bush was saying 'we aren't nation-building', and all that. Well, it sure looks like that was EXACTLY
what they had in mind, but it hasn't quite
worked out, mainly in my view because Rumsfeld
wanted to fight a 'boutique' war, with smart
bombs and so forth, rather than just do things
the RIGHT way from the get-go. What was the 'right way'? Frankly, WWII-style, which
was full occupation until the Marshal Plan took
hold. No one in the german citizenry had access
to ANYthing like a weapon, let alone cars, and the rebuilding got started under such conditions. Germany today is smack-dab in the middle of the EU and their current trend of prosperity and modernity, Iraq is by all appearances on its' way back to the stone age...
All the greedy people rushed in before peace
was established, and now it's a roiling mess,
according to the news...

[stlrfan]

I think another no-bid contract is in order,naaa, let's appoint a comitee to investigate

[onekoleso]

The White House, and its phalanx of media sycophants, has mastered the art of smoke and mirrors and its accompanying shell games.

Whether or not the plans are true, (probably) the bottom line is that it deflects any spotlights on the mess in: Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, the budget, and all of the administrations bungling fiascos.

Wag the dog, the tail (tale), and any other appendage at the public so that they can forget the real messes. After all, they'll (the public) buy into anything as they are so easily distracted and manipulated.

Tomorrow we'll hear about ……………..

[Susanvillian]

I love these guys. Cholera in Iraq, a veto for kids medical insurance here. Gives a new meaning to "No Child Left Behind."

[PaHairO]

Saddam was better at providing basic health infrastructure than we are A TRILLION DOLLARS AND SIX YEARS LATER.

IT BOGGLES THE FUCKING MIND.

Indeed, thank you for posting this, Rep. McDermott.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Correction: basic ALL infrastructure.

Electricity.

Oil production.

He didn't lose a city to a levee failure.

He didn't lose a major highway bridge to neglect.

Etc.

[Seattle34]

Democratic government and environmentalist lost new orleans to levee failure. Bush could have authorized a trillion dollars on day zero of his office and the levees would have still failed.

And don't blame bush for the bridge either. The state had been directing federal tranportation funds to mass transit instead of fixing bridges.

Hey, look...env­ironmental agendas were at the root of both failures. Interesting, eh?

[Give Peace A Chance]

Didn't you hear? Pelosi says impeachment is off the table. A trillion dollars wasted, 1.2 million killed, 3 million refugees, one third of Iraqis in need of immediate urgent aide.... and the Democratic presidential front runner, Hillary, voted to declare the Iranian army are terrorists.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Impeachment is off the table; Pelosi deserves just desserts.

[Macready]

Rep McDermott will you fight to have impeachment put back on the agenda? It has to be done right now!

I am in total agreement with Give Peace A Chance . . . America has committed a heinous crime against the Iraqi people .. . and all for oil . . .

[BUSHsurvivor]

Clean water?
HALLIBURTON: We're working on it!

Electricity?
HALLIBURTON: We're working on it!

Elevators?
HALLIBURTON: We're working on it!

[BARRISTER]

Money?
HALLIBURTON: IT KEEPS ROLLING IN!

[Seattle34]

Don't forget Clinton used Halliburton no-bid contracts throughout Kosovo. Were up complaining then, too? Or do you selectively complain about this stuff?

[mikeodd]

Sewage treatment plant inoperational. Probably millions spent on it too.Hmm...
Sounds like a Halliburton situation to me.
The $190 billion 'surge' that Bush has demanded of our flaccid Congress will only continue to subsidize these disaster capitalist vampires.

[OneTop]

The Cholera outbreak is old News ...... it's well underway.
Google for it and you will find it already reported upon by news and health organizations outside of the U.S.

Blocked imports of Chlorine to add to the drinking water has dealt a huge blow to the health of the Iraqi population.
The U.S. blocks it as it "may" be [in the minds of the U.S] aka Blackwater and the Mercenary Army contribute a component to bomb making.

Better to let Cholera run wild than take a remote chance ....

The good ole USofA

[Honeybun]

What you have to say is correct. This is old news.As I have said many times before get out in the real world to get some real news for real people. That means using foreign sources for news.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

As if IEDs are made with chlorine.

You want old -- and lethal -- news? Google "al Qaqaa": 380 TONS of high explosives stolen from under our noses.

[dadw5boys]

Congree has been fooled with the timing of the Betray Us REPORT.
In September it is 130 degrees in Iraq.
When the tempeture drops watch attack sky rocket. They already are in rising in Afgainstan.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

We have to fight the bacteria over there so we don't hafta...