[after a decade of crippling US-led sanctions which which the world bank estimates saw Iraq's GDP plummet from $65.83 billion in 1989 to 29.8 billion in 2003].
In 2021 [following a brutal war and occupation, and after the country was finally fully under the thumb of foreign capital and after sanctions were lifted],
Iraq's GDP was [only] $208 billion [a number it probably would have reached anyway, had it kept its economic trajectory between 1974–1989 without sanctions or war]
To illustrate this. If Iraq's economy had not grown at all between 1989 and 2023, and not had the gulf war, it would be at $157 Billion. So, an annual growth rate over the last 30 years of (very conservatively) 1.8% would outperform the current GDP.
Hey, it's better than me just eye balling pre-gulf war GDP trajectory. In any event, we can all agree it's difficult to see how an oil rich country, assuming no sanctions and no US invasion, wouldn't have at least equalled the GDP being lauded in the original article.
Wait a second let me fix that first line:
"In 2003
[after a decade of crippling US-led sanctions which which the world bank estimates saw Iraq's GDP plummet from $65.83 billion in 1989 to 29.8 billion in 2003].
In 2021 [following a brutal war and occupation, and after the country was finally fully under the thumb of foreign capital and after sanctions were lifted],
Iraq's GDP was [only] $208 billion [a number it probably would have reached anyway, had it kept its economic trajectory between 1974–1989 without sanctions or war]
To illustrate this. If Iraq's economy had not grown at all between 1989 and 2023, and not had the gulf war, it would be at $157 Billion. So, an annual growth rate over the last 30 years of (very conservatively) 1.8% would outperform the current GDP.
:fidel-salute-big: for doing the math on this one.
It is pretty dodgy math (I am not doing calculus today.) but a quick check makes it seem in the ballpark.
Hey, it's better than me just eye balling pre-gulf war GDP trajectory. In any event, we can all agree it's difficult to see how an oil rich country, assuming no sanctions and no US invasion, wouldn't have at least equalled the GDP being lauded in the original article.
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