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| Iraq |
| In oasis of calm in Kurdish north, Iraq builds university |
| 2007-09-03 |
| SULAIMANIYA, Iraq: In this corner of Iraq untouched by war, people are able to focus on the more normal attributes of building a nation, like starting a university. In a ceremony here last week, Iraq's leaders gathered for the groundbreaking for the American University of Iraq, a private institution that they hope will one day grow to mirror the more well-known American universities in Beirut and Cairo. The first classes, which will be conducted in English, are set to begin in a donated office next month. In the shorter term, supporters of the new university will stand as a symbol for the sort of positive change that is possible, if not in all of Iraq, then at least in its Kurdish north. "This shows what Iraq could be like," Barham Salih, Iraq's deputy prime minister told the gathering here, which included the American ambassador, Ryan Crocker, and the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani. "This is a dream that has to come true." They got a pretty good down payment on that dream last week. Following a sumptuous lunch for local businessmen here, Salih secured promises for $10 million in donations. That, along with the pledges secured so far - including one for $10.5 million from the U.S. Congress - brought the total promised to $40 million. In meetings with Americans and Iraqis, Salih was pleading for as much as he could get. "Your moral support is good, but your financial support is even better," Salih said to Crocker. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 My hat is off to the Kurds; you have to give them credit for the very tight security crackdown for their people, that only the Israelis could admire. With building that moat around their entire town(s), the "to know you is to see you" visitations and not letting anything larger than a gnat's ass get through without permission, they should be congratulated by the 'other' Iraqis! |
| Posted by: smn 2007-09-03 04:07 |