The Situation on the Ground in Iraq

Hey Bloggers,

I am sure that there are a great many opinions on what to do in Iraq given the situation there. Recently, there have been a large number of politicians that say that the heavily debated surge is working. John McCain, a front runner for the GOP had recently been heard in a soundbite charging that the american people were not getting a "full picture" of progress in the security progress in the capitol. He seemed to be alluding to the fact that all the information that comes out of Iraq is pessimistic about acheiving peace through military force there. Many of the republicans on the trip were saying, you could have been in a market anywhere in the states it was the same as shopping anywhere in the world.

The last time I checked I didn't take an armored tank division or Apache helicopters with me when I went shopping. What is wrong with telling the American people the reality of what is going on over there?

If we are going to come to some kind of resolution in Iraq the situation has to be assessed without resorting to spin for political gain. See the article below for reactions from Iraqis on the congressional visit.


Counterpoint: Seeing past the spin in Iraq

Paul F. Campos
Eagle-Tribune
April 15, 2007

Last week, Sen. John McCain staged a truly Orwellian publicity stunt in a Baghdad market. In a desperate attempt to give some sliver of credence to claims that the dreaded "liberal media" are failing to report on all the wonderful things happening in Iraq, McCain took a brief walk outside the American-maintained fortress that is Baghdad's Green Zone.

Afterward, McCain declared his walk through the market was a sign that security had improved significantly in the Iraqi capital, and the administration's current troop escalation is working. What he didn't mention was that, during his short stroll, he was accompanied by dozens of heavily armed U.S. troops and several armored vehicles, while a couple of attack helicopters hovered overhead.

McCain's photo op (which included the spectacle of the elderly senator wearing a flak jacket) was ludicrous on so many levels that even the normally docile national press, which has always treated McCain with kid gloves, pointed out he was making a fool of himself. Chastened, McCain issued a half-hearted apology a few days later, saying he "misspoke" when he pointed to his little walk under the protection of several platoons from the world's most powerful military as evidence of Baghdad's excellent shopping opportunities.

The most interesting question raised by McCain's pathetic stunt is why this genuine war hero - who after all knows far better than most politicians the difference between real courage and the made-for-TV kind - thought he could get away with it.

The answer can be found by taking a random stroll through the archives of the very media McCain was trying to manipulate. From the first days of the Iraq war, it has been an article of dogmatic faith among the conservatives McCain is trying to woo that the liberal media have given Americans far too bleak a picture of what's happening in Iraq.Here's just one example out of literally hundreds: In September 2003, former Clinton adviser-turned right-wing media pundit Dick Morris declared that the "incredibly biased" liberal media were claiming "that Iraq is a 'quagmire' and that there 'aren't any weapons of mass destruction,' and that 'Bush lied' - and all the while, thanks to Fox News are seeing with their own eyes how much this is crazy spin."

Over the past four years it's become clear that, when it comes to Iraq, perhaps a quarter of Americans are equipped with skulls that can successfully deflect almost all unpleasant facts. These people will account for the majority of the votes cast in next year's Republican primaries - hence McCain's extraordinarily well-armed stroll.

Here's another unpleasant fact: The day after McCain's photo op, 21 people from that same market were kidnapped, taken north of the city and murdered.

BAGHDAD Apr 3, 2007 (AP)— Sen. John McCain met with police and tribal leaders in Anbar province, the military said Tuesday, while Iraqis in Baghdad said his account of a heavily guarded visit to a central market did not represent the current reality in the capital.
Jaafar Moussa Thamir, a 42-year-old who sells electrical appliances at the Shorja market that the Republican congressmen visited on Sunday, said the delegation greeted some fellow vendors with Arabic phrases but he was not impressed.

"They were just making fun of us and paid this visit just for their own interests," he said. "Do they think that when they come and speak few Arabic words in a very bad manner it will make us love them? This country and its society have been destroyed because of them and I hope that they realized that during this visit."

McCain, a Republican presidential hopeful who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, said he was "cautiously optimistic" after riding with other members of a Republican congressional delegation from Baghdad's airport Sunday in armored vehicles under heavy guard to visit Shorja.
The market has been hit by bombings including a February attack that killed 137 people. The delegation said the trips were proof that security was improving in the capital.
McCain acknowledged a difficult task lies ahead in Iraq, but he insisted a U.S.-Iraqi security plan was working citing a recent drop in execution-style sectarian killings, the establishment of security posts throughout the city and Sunni tribal efforts against al-Qaida in the western Anbar province.

"These and other indicators are reason for cautious, very cautious optimism about the effects of the new strategy," the Arizona senator said.

The congressmen, who wore body armor during their hourlong shopping excursion at the Shorja market, said they were touched by the resilience and warmth of the Iraqi people, some of whom would not take money for their souvenirs.

The delegation was accompanied by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and followed his lead in taking off their helmets as they bought souvenirs and drank tea.

"I didn't care about him, I even turned my eyes away," Thamir said. "We are being killed by the dozens everyday because of them. What were they trying to tell us? They are just pretenders."
Karim Abdullah, a 37-year-old textile merchant, said the congressmen were kept under tight security and accompanied by dozens of U.S. troops.

"They were laughing and talking to people as if there was nothing going on in this country or at least they were pretending that they were tourists and were visiting the city's old market and buying souvenirs," he said. "To achieve this, they sealed off the area, put themselves in flak jackets and walked in the middle of tens of armed American soldiers."

But Abdullah applauded the congressmen for venturing out of the heavily guarded Green Zone, which houses the U.S. and British embassies as well as Iraqi government offices.

"Although these U.S. officials were using this visit for their propaganda to tell the Americans 'we are gaining progress here, don't worry,' it left a kind of good impression with some of us," he said. "They are at least better than Iraqi officials who never venture out their Green Zone to talk to normal people and see their problems. I hope that this visit will encourage Iraqi officials to leave their fortified houses inside the Green Zone."

McCain and fellow Republicans Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Representative Mike Pence of Indiana and Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona traveled Monday to Anbar province, a Sunni insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad that also is part of the security crackdown to which President Bush has committed some 30,000 extra troops.

The congressmen met with provincial police as well as Sheik Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi, who is leading a growing movement of Sunni tribesmen who have turned against al-Qaida-linked insurgents in Anbar, the military said in a statement issued Tuesday.