Why the Iraq war failed: the Hospital from Hell

If you want to know why the American occupation of Iraq was such a disaster, you need look no further than the story of the former Saddam Hussein Central Children's Hospital in Baghdad. When I first saw the hospital in 2004, it was beyond belief. There was sewage dripping from the roof of the premature babies' ward, leaking from pipes above, spattering down to the floor between the cots, where it gathered in foul stinking puddles. Downstairs in the leukaemia ward, the toilets had … [Read more...]