Lynn C. Woolsey: “earlier this week, the World Health Organization released a report that can only be called shocking and appalling.…”

“earlier this week, the World Health Organization released a report that can only be called shocking and appalling. Cholera is on the rise in Iraq and spreading to urban areas like Baghdad and Basrah, and some of the northern provinces as well. As most of you know, cholera is a diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine. People get cholera from drinking water or food contaminated with the cholera bacteria, and it spreads rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water. This sounds like a disease of the Third World, not one of a developed and wealthy country, certainly not a country where the United States is propping up the health care system, right? Then why have the confirmed number of cases of cholera risen to more than 2,000? In one week alone, 616 new cases were discovered. The WHO estimates that more than 30,000 people have fallen ill with similar symptoms which may later be confirmed as cholera. This is a shocking epidemic. As a result, the Iraqi Government is considering travel restrictions to limit the spread of this often deadly disease, particularly for children. In a country already crippled by refugees and internally displaced people, the situation grows more severe every single day. Why, as we are spending more than $13 million an hour for the occupation of Iraq, $13 million an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, can we not join with the international community to provide for the most basic human needs?”