How many schools have we built in Iraq?

Invariably, when discussing Iraq with conservatives, they'll say the "liberal" media isn't telling the whole story about what's happening in Iraq, and they'll almost certainly bring up the fact that we're building schools in Iraq.

If that's true, where can I find the data on how many schools we've built? Anyone know? And photographs. Where are the photographs of the smiling Iraqi children returning to class in their newly-built school?

I've seen a few news items on how we've helped to renovate schools in Iraq. If the school-building is such a big part of the public relations campaign to show Americans how great things are going in Iraq, you'd think within seconds the information would be available: how many schools, the locations, and those photographs of the smiling Iraqi children. If this information is available, can someone post the URL?

Here's one thing you know for sure: if they were, you'd be hearing so much about it you could barely stand it. Rummy would use every op to spout out some worthless stat, but he just has nothing to say.

I've wondered about that for awhile. All this supposed progress that's being made. Where are the pictures? Huh??

"More than 2,300 schools rehabilitated, nearly 900 more underway. 4,500 new schools to be built over the next four years."

No new ones built all rehabilitated-projection into the future for 4500 new schools

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/30820.htm

Which means slapping on a coat of paint and doing some basic construction, shoring up the foundation or replacing windows.

Which also means Sean Hannity is a liar. Hannity said the following on the May 14 Hannity and Colmes:

"The thing that bothered me about the whole thing (prison abuse scandal), there was no context brought in. We have 150,000 troops there.

They are bringing civility where there was none. They are taking away the genocide and they're building roads and infrastructures and schools for the Iraqi people and they have a better chance of liberty and freedom than they've ever had. It's not perfect yet, but it's better."

I always wanted a job as a fact checker on those radio shows but the only openings were on right wing talk shows and for some reason they just weren't hiring.

I've heard so many times now how we're building schools in Iraq and it just occurred to me today that I've never seen any DOD PR on it. No photographs, facts or figures. Nothing.

I think it's all a part of a propaganda campaign conducted by the likes of Hannity, Limbaugh and the other pundits. Too often the media -- liberal or otherwise -- puts out information and we just assume it's true.

on public radio comment concerning this issue a while back.
His criticism was that the NGO's (non govermental organizations) that were showing up to do this work had severly understated the costs of school reconstruction ..that it wasn't going well...that they had quoted $20,000 per school when actual costs of redesigning the educational system in Iraq would be closer to $40,000 per school and that they would show up...distribute pencils and a few staples to the schools and pretend that the job was done.
Can't recall his name...I want to say it was Jim Eliot but am not certain on that point..it was around the time of the Fallujah uprising.

I was just wondering.

Since they're non-governmental orgs.

:shrug:

charities...I'll have to look it up for certainty.

We should not pat ourselves on the back for any shcool built until we build the first one that exceeds the number we destroyed or damaged.

After looking at the State Department blurb I thought how many of the rehabed schools were ones we destroyed? I guess that's something for
someone in the media to explore.

Only count the jobs that have been added over the past month, and exclude the jobs lost over the course of his presidency.

we have invaded Iraq and have murdered innumerable amounts of children. Not to mention those we have maimed terribly.

Recently we maimed and killed more at a wedding celebration--killing children and women from our mighty helicopters.

And now we brag that we have opened schools?

Who really, in the face of it, can justify or be satisfied, or comforted by the proclamation that we have opened schools?

which is OK. But I haven't read anything about how many schools htey have actually built.

Before the 1991 Iraq War, Iraq had one of the best educated populations.

about a month ago. Where's all the reconstruction? Where are the building sites? Where are the cranes and heavy equipment. Where are the trucks full of wood and drywall going down the highways? Nothing, nada, zip.

On a regular basis, I scan the news photos from Iraq. Again, nothing, nada, zip.

All I've seen is a lot of deconstruction, not reconstruction, but we all know W can speak correctly or spell.

And the Class of '04 will be remembered for all time.

Rebuilt is more accurate, because some were existing but crappy.

I have no idea what anyother group did.

http://www.export.gov/iraq/pdf/dod_wklyrpt_042004.pdf

so far this is what we have completed

• Over 2,300 schools throughout Iraq have been refurbished in the past year
• USAID announced a $12.6 million, one-year grant to the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to continue providing support to the Iraqi
Ministry of Education. This grant will assist in achieving such goals as:
– Providing 1,150 schools with access to potable water and fully
operational sanitation facilities;
– Developing and distributing materials and software for the promotion
of school health, sanitation, and personal hygiene;
– Developing, printing and distributing relevant training and teaching
materials and providing additional training for teachers, principals and
supervisors of the 1,150 schools; and
– Enrolling 50,000 out-of-school children in accelerated learning
programs

So, we painted, swept the floors and made promises. This is what the official governmental site said we accomplished.