Blind Ambition: Factoids

Signs of Progress

• As of late May, more than 1.2 million Iraqis had telephone service-more than 45 percent above prewar levels.
• The state-owned Internet company has more than 43,000 subscribers in Baghdad, with more than 11,000 new subscribers added each week. Prewar internet access was very limited.
• The Ministry of Health has immunized 5 million children against measles, mumps and rubella.

Worrisome Trends

• Unemployment is nearly 30 percent, while underemployment is higher than 20 percent.
• Power production in central Iraq remains well below prewar production levels.
• The majority of Iraqi police on duty are untrained.

Source: Defense Department