REVISIONISM AT ITS WORST

Malcom Lagauche

...The destruction of the Iraqi education system was devastating and the number one reason why Iraq was kept in a "pre-industrial" mode for years after the U.S. assault in 1991. However, few people in the U.S. have a clue to the former crown jewel of the country. Today, there is a tremendous amount of revisionist history that is effective propaganda for the U.S. public. The new version could not be further from the truth. In 1973, Iraq began an all-out assault on illiteracy. Thousands of Iraqis were sent overseas to obtain advanced degrees. They, in turn, came back to Iraq to educate the next generation of educators. In the 1980s, the Iraqi education system was universally acknowledged by the U.N. and many international education organizations as the best in the world for developing countries. Officials from many nations visited Iraq and took notes at how the system worked. These facts have simply been ignored in the past few years in re-writing the history of Iraq. An interesting part of the Ba’ath education system was its secular approach. Students received a first-class education regardless of their religious affiliation. Females attended school regularly and did not have to wear a veil if they did not choose. Today’s Iraqi education experience is far different. Few females attend class. In most areas, they are compelled to wear veils, ever if they’ve never worn one in their lives. And, they mostly have to be escorted to school by two male family members. By 1990, the literacy rate in Iraq had grown from about 40% in 1973, to almost 90% This success rate was unheard of in the Arab world...

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