[NYTr] UFPJ: IRAQ - THE PEOPLE'S REPORT

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by David Swanson

United for Peace & Justice

For Immediate Release
Monday, September 10, 2007

contact: Sue Udry: 301-325-1201: 
Leslie Cagan: 347-581-1782; 
Erik Leaver: 202-787-5240 

IRAQ: THE PEOPLE'S REPORT

United for Peace and Justice, the country's largest anti-war coalition,
has produced an assessment of the situation on the ground in Iraq that
contrasts sharply with the projected conclusions of  the  so-called
Petraeus Report - actually written within the White House.  Leslie
Cagan, National Coordinator of the group, which claims 1400 members,
states:  " We feel it is essential to provide a true picture of what
the shattered lives of the 25 million Iraqis look like today. Prepared
by Phyllis Bennis and Erik Leaver, researchers at the Institute for
Policy Studies, Iraq: The People's Report  takes a look at what this
war has cost Iraqis and the U.S." 

Iraq: The People's Report notes that:

  a.. two million Iraqis have fled the war to seek hard-to-find refuge
in neighboring countries, and an additional two million Iraqis have
been forced by war-fueled violence to flee their homes and  remain
displaced and homeless inside Iraq. b.. most Iraqis have electricity
for only about five hours a day, clean water remains scarce for most
and unobtainable for many, and Iraq's oil production remains a fraction
of what it was before war. c.. occupation, war and violence have so
decimated the Iraqi economy that unemployment has reached up to 40% and
higher, and underemployment an additional 10% or more In spite of the
appalling conditions that most Iraqis now find themselves living in,
General Patraus and Ambassador Crocker will try to convince Congress
that the situation is improving.  "We hope that Congress will remember
that these small improvements in a horrific situation have cost U.S.
taxpayers over $480 Billion so far, with no end in sight," remarked Sue
Udry, Legislative Coordinator of United for Peace and Justice.  "That
is $480 billion that we could not spend here at home to rebuild the
Gulf Coast, improve education and healthcare and more." 

The report also notes that:

  The failure of the Iraq War has also meant a huge cost to our
democracy at home. We have paid an enormous price: in the deaths and
shattered minds and bodies of our young soldiers; in the threats to an
economy ravaged by billion-dollar bills to pay for an illegal war; in
the destruction of so much of our infrastructure, security and social
fabric because of human and financial resources diverted to Iraq; and
in the shredding of our Constitution and civil rights as fear becomes a
weapon in the hands of the Bush Administration aimed at Congress, the
courts and the people of this country. 

The full (4-page) report is available at
www.unitedforpeace.org/congress or
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/downloads/peoplesreport.pdf 

Please see also: http://www.betrayusreport.org