Thousands Protest in Baghdad against Lack of Electricity, Services & demand end of Corruption

[unhappycamper]

http://www.juancole.com/2015/08/thousands-electricity-corruption.html

Thousands Protest in Baghdad against Lack of Electricity, Services & demand end of Corruption
Aug. 1, 2015
By Juan Cole

It seems extraordinary, but in a country where Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) has advanced to within an hour’s drive of the capital, Baghdad, civil politics there has not been paralyzed. Big demonstrations broke out on Friday.

Ordinary citizens are no longer willing to cut the Iraqi government, led by the Shiite Islamic Call Party (al-Da`wa al-Islamiya), any slack. A severe heat wave has suffocated the Middle East, with temperatures reaching 120 Fahrenheit and more (49 C.) in Baghdad, which one headline called the hottest city in the world this week. (Believe it or not, temperatures are headed a couple of degrees higher by Wednesday).

Iraqis who can afford it are forced to run gasoline-powered private generators just to keep refrigerators and air conditioners running.

The US and international sanctions put on Iraq after the Gulf War in the 1990s destroyed its economy and prevented the building of new power plants. The American administration of Iraq proved unable substantially to increase electricity production. Many of the overly high tech projects the US initiated fell into disuse because Iraqis did not have the training to keep them up, or because they were sabotaged by groups opposed to the US presence.

[djean111]

1. Maybe they can use the sunshine we spread for solar power. n/t