fatvegan

Over 20 years of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, and a decade of sanctions, have left Iraq with feeble public services and impaired institutions, such as courts to schools. The Economist

Iraq’s educational system used to be among the best in the region; one of the country’s most important assets remains its well-educated people. The results of education reform in the 1970s and 1980s are evident in the high literacy rates in the adult population. However, over the past two decades, wars, sanctions, and harsh economic conditions have taken a toll on the educational system. UN

So who do you trust? When the Economist claims that the schools have been enfeebled by 20 years of dictatorship and a decade of sanctions, is it really just a polite way of saying it's been enfeebled by a decade of sanctions and three years of war? You can say a lot of bad things about Saddam Hussein, but it's difficult to claim he wasn't also the most progressive leader in the Middle East.