If only it were just the economy, stupid
: Iraqi blogger Omar has a wonderful essay today on the power of the economy in Iraq. The real measure of our success in rebuilding the country is being ignored: It’s the value of the dinar and the wages of the people.
He tells a story about his uncle and aunt, both teachers who could barely support their family under Saddam (they had to sell even their refrigerator) and now they are paid decent wages; they were paid less than $15 a month before and now they make almost $800.
My young cousin is a religious Sunni who goes to the mosque and listens to the cleric there every Friday and believes whatever he says, as he