Middle class exodus from Iraq

Whilst George Bush has this morning extolled the establishment of a Government in Iraq and how it spells the defeat of Al Queda [where that "wisdom" comes from is somewhat hard to fathom] the facts on the ground in Iraq are clearly spelt out in this statistic in an article in the NYT:

"Since 2004, the Ministry of Education has issued 39,554 letters permitting parents to take their children's academic records abroad. The number of such letters issued in 2005 was double that in 2004, according to the director of the ministry's examination department. Iraqi officials and international organizations put the number of Iraqis in Jordan at close to a million. Syrian cities also have growing Iraqi populations."

It seems the middle class is moving out of Iraq in substantial numbers. Just this morning on Iraqi doctor, presently in Australia, was on ABC Radio National's Breakfast program noting how the medical professsion has been decimated in Iraq.

Read the complete NYT article here.

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Mahler's Prodigal Son

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