(Washington, D.C.) -- As House and Senate conferees prepare to meet about the 2007 emergency spending today, the Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) calls for increased funding for economic development. In two EPIC interviews released to the media today, Dr. Lisa Schirch of the 3D Security Initiative and Prof. Eric Davis of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University agree that increasing economic development efforts on the ground in Iraq will improve the quality of life for millions of Iraqis and, with it, security conditions throughout the country. 

Prof. Davis and Dr. Schirch challenge a troublesome trend in Washington, as the Bush administration continues to increase defense and military spending in Iraq at the expense of a shrinking development budget. Economic development in Iraq is critical, they argue, and can be leveraged effectively as a tool to meet pressing needs, create desperately-needed jobs, and generate peace and stability from the bottom up.

Dr. Schirch explains, “In some parts of Iraq, unemployment is between 50 and 70 percent. Can you imagine what U.S. cities would be like if we had that many angry, frustrated, unemployed people sitting around? Job creation is clearly essential and community-based development projects try to address those needs.”

Some U.S. military leaders are already recognizing this fact. The results of a classified study completed earlier this year by the Joint Warfare Analysis Center of the Defense Department found that small improvements in the quality of life for Baghdad residents – as little as a 2 percent increase in job satisfaction – correlated to sizeable declines in attacks on allied troops and sectarian-related deaths.

As the plight of the Iraqi people grows ever more desperate, the U.S. must reverse this disturbing decline in economic assistance to Iraq, for the sake of Iraqis and U.S. soldiers alike.

Prof. Davis warns, “Until you deal with the issue of huge unemployment [in Iraq], nothing is really going to change. There will still be violence, the interdiction of goods, continued oil theft and smuggling, and the destruction of electric lines and oil pipelines. Unless you take the issue of unemployment seriously, I don’t see the Iraqi economy turning itself around for a long time to come.”

EPIC Director Erik Gustafson agrees, adding, “There are moral and national security imperatives to provide development assistance to the people of Iraq. The House and Senate have the opportunity to show real leadership in ensuring that those imperatives are reflected in the supplemental and budgets they pass.”

Spokespersons available for comment:
Lisa Schirch, Program Director for the 3D Security Initiative and Associate Professor of Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University
Eric Davis, Executive Member of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University
Erik Gustafson, EPIC’s Executive Director and 1991 Gulf War Veteran

About the Organization

Founded in 1998, the Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) is an independent non-profit organization working through education and advocacy to end armed conflict in Iraq, defend human rights, and help Iraqis advance peace and development for all Iraqis.

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