Vacation in Iraq?

Vacation in Iraq? Noooooooooo..........I'm not insane. Well, at least not quite yet. Alicia Colon's article today in the New York Sun pointed out some rather surprising statistics about just how dangerous Iraq really is.

She reported that Rep. Steve King, a Republican of Iowa, on C-span last week rattled off some startling figures that demonstrate how off-base journalists are when it comes to reporting on the war in Iraq. According to Mr. King, the violent death rate in Iraq is 25.71 per 100,000. That may sound high, but not when you compare it to places like Colombia (61.7), South Africa (49.6), Jamaica (32.4), and Venezuela (31.6).

How about the violent death rates in American cities? New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina was 53.1. FBI statistics for 2004-05 have Washington at 45.9, Baltimore at 37.7, and Atlanta at 34.9.

I wonder if the media in this country reported the violent deaths in our major American cities the way they do the deaths in Iraq, if our Congressmen and Senators would be forced to convene the House and the Senate at a secured location?

Will I be vacationing in Iraq this summer? I doubt it, but based on the information above, I don't think I'll be visiting our nation's capital either.

Source: http://www.nysun.com/article/32787