A quote so strong it makes the mind stop and wonder how did such a civilized country with the 2nd largest oil reserve in the world get caught in it's current situation?

Four days after Iraqi troops invaded neighboring Kuwait in August 1990, the United Nations Security Council immediately condemned the attack and imposed comprehensive sanctions which are still in effect a decade later.

Basically, Iraq was to be cut off from all foreign goods, including food, military equipment, textbooks and scores of vital products used routinely by 23 million people. Although Iraqi troops were ultimately expelled by a U.S. led international coalition in February 1991, the sanctions were left in place to compel Saddam to give up his program to build and stockpile weapons of mass destruction. Today, Baghdad insists it has nothing left to surrender and refuses to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors until the sanctions are lifted.

Washington Times reporter Betsy Pisik and I had the opportunity to travel to Iraq for two weeks this past August to see how the country is coping. While we saw severe poverty, malnutrition, poor health conditions and the eyes of Saddam everywhere, we also found great perseverance and prosperity in people like Qassem, the art dealer. We were there in August when the daily temperature averaged about 122 degrees Fahrenheit. And while I'm sure this heat contributed to the heaviness of this ancient city, I think the ubiquitous Saddam portraits hanging on practically every street corner were more oppressive. Huge monuments saluting him and tributes to those Iraqi's who have died for their country stand in abundance throughout Baghdad. But just a street over from some of these are dirty, disgusting neighborhoods where families share homes. I met a woman who shares a 3-room flat with three families, no electricity, no running water, and rats aplenty.

Inside the Saddam Children's Hospital along the 'death' ward, more than a dozen infants lie listless and miserable, many suffering from leukemia. The 350-bed hospital is filled with advanced cases of preventable conditions that are exacerbated by malnutrition. Cholera, typhoid, and polio, nearly eradicated at one time, are now making a comeback. So while Saddam continues to build his palaces, monuments, and mosques-one of the largest in the Arab world is currently under construction in Baghdad, named of course, for himself-the ordinary Iraqi still suffers.

Although sanctions seem to be eroding from an international standpoint, and the U.N. Oil for Food Program has helped to create some exchange for vital life supporting supplies, the people still live in misery under this harsh dictator. The photographs here are a small window into an ancient culture of 23 million people, that at one time was one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the Arab world. With the continuation of sanctions and Saddam, it may be a long time before Qassem sees Iraq shine the way it should.

Karen Ballard is a staff photojournalist at The Washington Times in Washington D.C.

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