SwiftVets.com

[Guest]

He reports.
>
>
> 24 May 2007
>

> To be in Baghdad and not be cognizant of all the
> contradictions and conflicts
> and incongruencies that exist here is to ignore, in
> an unconcerned way, a social
> event that may have long reaching implications. I
> cannot turn away from what I
> see.
>
> I have given some thought to the ironies that exists
> here and am trying to come
> to terms with what I am seeing, to reconcile in my
> own mind the events that
> occur here, not so much on a micro level but from a
> more global perspective. I
> focus on the media because they "pretend" to tell
> you the news, that is the news
> they want you to hear.. The message they send is so
> warped, so biased, it could
> not be further from another equally compelling
> truth. The news tells only one
> side of the story: an oblique implication of the
> stupidity of our government,
> death and destruction, arrogance, greed,
> miss-management, scandals, abuse,
> violence, bombings, wastage, ad infinitum.
>
> But there is another side Americans do not see
> (which is why I pick on Wolf
> Blitzer as the personification of the manner in
> which he and others portray what
> is occurring here.). I saw it before when I was here
> and I see it again. I can't
> deny its existence nor can I turn my heart and soul
> and eyes from the reality.
> It is a parallel reality that is hard to believe
> given the horrid events and
> negative news presented so forthrightly by our
> supposed media; and the animosity
> being leveled against Pres. Bush. How to say this?
>
> It's easy to report on bombs exploding, rocket
> attacks, and the resulting
> destruction. It's true they are dangerous and
> disruptive. It is easy to report
> on the ironies of a small girl killed, her doll
> lying next to her just as
> lifeless. It's easy to depict a win/loss type of
> situation. We see soldiers in
> the news pointing their rifles and shooting from a
> mud wall, the cartridges
> flying sideways form the gun, and then we see, in an
> odd juxtaposition, the
> blasted house that was once someone's home. We see
> dead and injured people and
> we see the results of endless car bombs. We hear of
> 4 to 6 Americans dying
> everyday like clockwork and we sense a growing
> discontent and unrest in the USA
> over the management of the war and the war itself
> and the sense of needless
> sacrifice. We have lost almost 4,000 soldiers, by
> some accounts a staggering
> numbering, staggering that is until we reflect that
> on D-Day in 1941, we lost
> almost 10,000 soldiers in one day; and on America's
> highways alone we lose
> 50,000 per year. The news about our efforts or
> implications and nuances leveled
> against us is not good. But we never see the
> so-called insurgents cutting off
> heads, assassinating whole families, blowing up
> markets resulting in 120 deaths,
> intimidating those of other faiths, indiscriminant
> killing of people all over
> Baghdad and then leaving their bodies to rot (65
> bodies found in one day). No.
> we don't see that in light of the people who are
> causing these atrocities, and
> it's not the American solider. The media does not
> want us to see that because it
> just may be that the criticism being meted out
> should be directed to where it
> belongs: against the real perpetrators. In fact, the
> media doesn't even venture
> beyond the safe zones of Baghdad to report on that,
> really. From what we see on
> TV and read in the news, it's easy to assume we are
> the culprit, that we are
> losing.
>
> But are we?
>
> When I was here before, 90% of the people in the
> palace working to rebuild
> something in Iraq were Iraqis. It's the same now. As
> I sit here, I count 41
> Iraqis sitting around me all working. They talk,
> they smile, they work, they
> sing, they visit and they share. They share
> everything from ideas to family to
> work related problems. Some are quiet, some are
> boisterous, some are talkative,
> and some are highly educated. They are not all
> fantastic workers but they all
> work and they are loyal to a concept called Iraq -
> where people can prosper and
> lead productive lives.
>
> A thought: If Iraqis wanted the insurrection, the
> destruction, the killings to
> stop, they have the power to make it happen. Why
> they do not rise in revolt
> against the perpetrators from Iran and Syria and
> from the invidious idealism of
> salvation through death and subjugation through
> tyranny and terror. The
> terrorists hide behind their faith in ways that is
> inconceivable for westerners
> to comprehend Anyway.
>
> Iraqis like working with Americans, believe it or
> not (and I am sure many
> Americans would find that hard to swallow). As Azza
> told me, it is difficult for
> Americans to understand the cultural differences and
> function in Iraq but,
> regardless of all the problems that Americans may
> have caused, Americans give us
> hope. I see hope slowly fading away in her face, but
> she is still here working
> for something better. But the words that ring loud
> and clear: "We have never had
> hope." We know mistakes have been made by the
> Americans but we also see them
> trying. We know Americans are not perfect, often
> arrogant, but we see that they
> try to help. Wolf, you are taking note, right?
>
> America has given Iraq almost $19 billion dollars
> for reconstruction. It's a
> gift and repayment is not required. The debt is
> forgiven. That's a mere drop in
> the bucket of what is needed, really. It's not even
> a teardrop. We can't rebuild
> this country. We are fooling ourselves if we thank
> we can. There are not enough
> resources to re-build Iraq. The reconstruction
> effort, though perhaps partially
> funded with external funds, has to come from within,
> like Germany and Japan and
> now Vietnam. Although $19 Billion is not nearly
> enough, it is something. To use
> a cliché, it's a kick start. This amount is enough
> to put Iraq back on its feet
> and provide it with basic infrastructure needs. What
> other country has done
> that, given so much? And further, what other Arab
> country has offered to help?
> Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (just down the road),
> selfish jerks that they are, has
> given nothing to its Arab neighbor. They don't care.
> Syria and Iran? Forget it.
> Also jerks. It's not a nice neighborhood here
>
> We have given American Blood. There is no way this
> can be repaid. But Americans
> are relatively forgiving. If Iraq stands on its feet
> through our sacrifices, I
> believe Americans will see this as positive, though
> still a heartbreak. What
> more can we give a country? In the end, when the
> reconstruction is over (and
> sometimes admittedly it seems one step forward and
> two steps backwards), Iraq
> will have something on which to build. The basic
> building blocks will be in
> place. What they do with it remains to be seen.
>
> Is there not a parallel in history to what we are
> doing? Is it not inconceivable
> that Saddam Hussein had to be removed at some point
> by someone? Would the chaos
> and anarchy be any less? I believe there is a slight
> parallel. When England gave
> independence to India and Pakistan on the same date
> and partitioned the two
> countries in 1947, did it not foresee the carnage?
> If they had, and it had
> become a deterrent to independence, would colonial
> rule be tolerated today? No.
> At some point in history there had to be a regime
> change. And it would be and
> was bloody.
>
> These thoughts continue to bounce through my brain.