Iraqi medical system wrecked by war

AP/Washington Post, February 19, 2008

Already a troubled system, Iraqi medical care has fallen to the brink of collapse since the U.S.-led invasion five years ago. Scores of doctors have been slain, cancer patients have to hunt down their own drugs--even IV fluid is in short supply. A former deputy health minister and the head of the ministry's security force will stand trial, a year after they were accused of letting Shiite death squads use ambulances and government hospitals to carry out kidnappings and killings. Adding to the problems, specialists are in short supply.