A fancy hospital and no basic health care

Here's another possible big win in Iraq for Bush buddies that has little real value.

The LAT reports, First Lady Laura Bush has joined up with the National Security Council to fund a new state-of-the-art children's hospital in Iraq. "But rather than being embraced as a welcome addition to a nation with a shattered healthcare system, the proposed hospital has quietly become a battleground." Lawmakers are questioning whether the wildly expensive, state-of-the-art hospital – with a price tag of at least $500 million - is the best way to use resources in a country which lacks basic health care. Also, "the hospital would be operated under the guidance of Project Hope, a charity whose president is a Bush family acquaintance from Texas," leaving Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to wonder if the project were "more the result of political pressure than the best use of taxpayer dollars." "Congressional staffers who reviewed the proposal expressed skepticism about whether it was better to fund a high-end medical facility or pay for basic public health measures such as clean water and vaccinations."

  Progress Report

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.