Water Systems Grinding To A Halt In Baghdad - Shutdowns Now Affecting Green Zone - ENS

[hatrack]

EDIT

Even if a family can afford the luxury of a private well, it's not even usable for laundry because it is mixed with sewage that has seeped into the groundwater from corroded pipes or has a very high salinity. Mustafa al-Ani, a university political sciences student from the al-Adl neighborhood, west of Baghdad, does not believe the water shortages are due to lack of power, but the consequence of an inefficient government.

Collecting water has become part of a daily routine for Baghdadi families, including al-Ani's. Each member of his family, he says, fill pots and plastic bottles on a rota system, so there's always some water to hand when the supply is cut. But even this does not provide enough for his family. In desperation, some local residents sever the main water pipe in their neighborhood and attach an electric pump to get more water, causing disputes among families. Al-Ani says he can only take showers every two or three days, and feels dirty and sweaty all the time.

The power cuts are so severe that they have even reached the formerly privileged Green Zone where the government and many foreign organizations are located. Tayseer al-Mashhadani, from the national assembly's services and work committee, reported that the water supply to this fortified stronghold shuts down for several hours every day.

The situation does not look as though it will improve anytime soon. For three days in May, power in the capital was completely off after insurgents attacked electricity pylons. Aziz Sultan, a spokesman for the electricity ministry, said 15 pylons have been sabotaged, and a number that had been previously fixed by technicians have suffered new attacks. The water crisis has been compounded by the fact that chlorine necessary for purification is in short supply. Insurgents have recently employed chlorine bombs in residential areas and markets in al-Bayya south of Baghdad and in al-Taji north of the capital.

EDIT

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2007/2007-06-11-01.asp

[kenny blankenship]

1. But we've got to stay in Iraq until we finish cleaning up the mess we've made !

We can leave when they're all dead. (and the oil is gone)

[BOSSHOG]

2. Have we been greeted as liberators yet?

I guess I'll check in with faux news to get a review of all the great things going on in Iraq courtesy of PNAC and right wing hate radio.

And to think, conservatives hate it when someone calls this what it really is - BUSH'S WAR!

[AndyA]

3. Everything Bush touches turns to shit.

His oil company.

His baseball team.

He's doing it to America and Iraq and as much of the world as he can right now.

Everything he touches turns to shit. Everything.

[phantom power]

4. "Inefficient govt?" You can see where *that* framing is going...

Privatized water! "It's the only solution to restore efficiency."

[Up2Late]

5. Wow! Things sound GREAT there!

:sarcasm:
Good, maybe this will be a good dose of reality for the Emerald City.

[lyonn]

6. Can we leave now and give Iraq a chance?

This is devastating. The Iraqis have surely got a better idea on how to run their country. Maybe not to george's satisfaction. Words escape me. We have totally ruined a country.

[NMDemDist2]

7. it's too late I fear, they are a failed state at this point whether we stay or go

frakking Bushco criminals :cry:

[Nihil]

8. I am glad to read this

> The power cuts are so severe that they have even reached the
> formerly privileged Green Zone where the government and many
> foreign organizations are located.

About time that the troublemakers suffered with the rest of Baghdad
(rest of Iraq really) instead of living in their little bubble,
protected from the real world of chaos & pain that they've caused.