Dispatches from Baghdad - a soldier's view on Iraq

There are also numerous signs of economic, health and communications development since the fall of Saddam. Just a few are listed below:
In 2005 alone, 98 percent of Iraqi children between 1-5 years old (3.62 million) were immunised against measles, mumps, and rubella. Also in 2005, 97 percent of Iraqi children under five (4.56 million) were immunised against polio.
The average monthly teacher’s salary has increased from a pre-war amount of $2 a month, to $100 a month in 2006.
Since the ousting of Saddam Hussein, an additional one million children have enrolled in primary school.
Since the war, some 268 newspapers, 54 television stations, and 114 radio stations have officially registered. No independent newspapers, commercial television stations, or radio stations existed under the restrictive regime of Saddam Hussein.
Hundreds of Civilian flight operations from Baghdad International Airport each week.
Four mobile phone operators have now reached 7.2 million subscribers. This represents a dynamic expansion of Iraqi civil liberties as mobile phone usage was forbidden under Saddam’s regime.
There is now a record number of marriages taking place.