How Things Are Going In Iraq
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in The War On Terrorism, The World, WarWe want to think that things are going good. We want to think that Iraq isn’t on the brink of civil war. But with each passing day, more and more signs point to a reality we simply don’t want to believe
From NY Times:
WASHINGTON, April 8 â€â€? An internal staff report by the United States Embassy and the military command in Baghdad provides a sobering province-by-province snapshot of Iraq’s political, economic and security situation, rating the overall stability of 6 of the 18 provinces “serious” and one “critical.” The report is a counterpoint to some recent upbeat public statements by top American politicians and military officials.The report, 10 pages of briefing points titled “Provincial Stability Assessment,” underscores the shift in the nature of the Iraq war three years after the toppling of Saddam Hussein. Warnings of sectarian and ethnic frictions are raised in many regions, even in those provinces generally described as nonviolent by American officials.
There are alerts about the growing power of Iranian-backed religious Shiite parties, several of which the United States helped put into power, and rival militias in the south. The authors also point to the Arab-Kurdish fault line in the north as a major concern, with the two ethnicities vying for power in Mosul, where violence is rampant, and Kirkuk, whose oil fields are critical for jump-starting economic growth in Iraq.
So are schools being builts? Yes. Hospitals? Well, sort of. Better infrastructure? Not really.
Which is why it’s more important than ever to make sure we get the job done. And yet Bush and company have, for all monetary intents and purposes, thrown the responsibility back onto the Iraqis.”The U.S. never intended to completely rebuild Iraq,” Brig. Gen. William McCoy, the Army Corps of Engineers commander overseeing the work, told reporters at a recent news conference. In an interview this past week, McCoy said: “This was just supposed to be a jump-start.”Show of hands, how many of you believe that we were only suppose to give Iraq a “jump-start”? I thought we were going to be there until the job was done? Did I not hear this correctly in Bush a recent speech given about rebuilding Iraq?
Also, when you look at the fact sheet on the Whitehouse.gov site called ‘Rebuilding Iraq’ these words are in bold: The United States Will Settle For Nothing Less Than Complete Victory In Iraq.
I don’t know, maybe I’m being too critical. Obviously I’m not offering any solutions…save one. Honesty. Let’s inject some honesty into this debate. We need to start talking about the bad along with the good. “Upbeat” just isn’t doing the trick anymore.
In any event, this is all I’ve got right now. Maybe more later.
Thoughts are welcome and appreciated.
This entry was posted on Saturday, April 8th, 2006 and is filed under The War On Terrorism, The World, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 8th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
Can I respond by linking to this latest of mine.
Seems to be the moot du jour
April 9th, 2006 at 10:53 am
I’d mention that a senior Iraqi official is quoted as calling it an “undeclared civil war” — I think good things are happening, but we’ve also created a huge mess.
April 9th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
You will not get a complete picture simply by listening to the Bush Administration. Nor will you get a complete picture by simply reading the New York Times. To get anything resembling a complete picture, you have to read about a dozen sources a day, including the key Iraqi bloggers, the U.S. milbloggers, and I highly recomment Iraqi Press Monitor.
Paying attention to the White House only will confuse you. Most of the New York Times reporting on the situation is unhelpful, too, if read in isolation, though if you see anything with only a John Burns byline, it’s probably worth your time.
April 10th, 2006 at 7:52 am
I guess I have to be the one to point out that if 6/18 provinces have problems that means that 2/3 – a solid majority – do not have problems.
But on the other hand, 6 months ago only 4/18 were cited as having security problems.
Dave