As support for Iraqi freedom wanes in the USA, the Iraqi people claim more and more progress in their danger-frought attempts to gain political power and wrest the country from oppression. Here's some of what our mainstream media aren't telling us:
1. June 14: Iraq's Shiite-led government received a vote of confidence from the Iraqi National Assembly. "The 37-member government led by Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari was overwhelmingly approved by a show of hands from the 275-member parliament."
2. June 22: Iraq restores diplomatic relations with four neighboring countries-- Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait -- for the first time in a decade."Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari announced that Egypt would be the first Arab country to upgrade its diplomatic representation by appointing an ambassador."
3.June 21:"The president of the Iraqi constitutional committee Mr. Humam Hamudi announced that the constitutional committee has completed 80% of the Iraqi constitution and is determined to complete its mission before August 15th. He added that the committee meets daily to take advantage of the wide Arab Sunni participation. Jawad Alamleki (a Sunni member of the committee) said that constitution will emerge with strong Iraqi personality and there are no serious disagreements in dissertation over its contents."
4.June 21: Something I wish would happen in the US: Iraqis catch Constitutional Fever. "Public conferences and sessions in Baghdad and other provinces seem to be endless nowadays; municipalities, NGOs and forums are all very excited about Iraq's top topic which is writing the Iraqi constitution and they obviously don't want to miss the chance to take part in the historic event.
Such activities play a good role in educating the population and activating the concept of public involvement in the state's decisive steps through organizing sending the people's suggestions and thoughts to the authorities and making sure they're being considered."
5.June 27:
"In a statement, Sheikh Abu Manar Al Alami, president of the Council for Islamic Call and Guidance for the Salafi trend, called the Arab fighters to refrain from the martyr attacks. He confirmed the nullity of the religious opinions of Jihad in Iraq, which have been launched by some Salafi clergymen in Saudi Arabia. He strongly rejected accusing the Salafi trend of being extremist and adopting terrorism."
6. June 27:Steps are being taken to restore citizenship to Iraqis who were deprived of their nationality nationality under Saddam’s regime according to the "Bad Reputation 666 Act of 1980."
7. June 27: Even the European Union is getting into the act. The European Union mission for training Iraqi magistrates and senior law enforcement officials is set to begin on 1 July. The proposal was approved by the 25 EU members states in February, but the office of foreign policy chief Javier Solana has confirmed they have now received an official request from Baghdad. The request was made during a visit by three leading EU officials, including Solana, to Iraq last week."
8. June 20: Hussein left Iraq with a mind-boggling debt of $125 billion. So Iraq is negotiating debt reduction or forgiveness with a variety of entities. Canada signed the latest agreement and agreed to write off 80%, or US$470 million, of Iraqi debt. Slovakia will also forgive Iraq its debt amounting to 35.2 million koruna ($10.8 million).
9. June 10: The Iraqi stock market signs on more than 50 stock markets around the world and will join The International Federation of Stock Exchanges. "Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam, executive manager of the stock market, who participated in the conference, heading a delegation of the stock market, said that various participating international stock exchanges have expressed their desire to sign mutual agreements to develop the mutual work with the Iraqi stock market, which reinforces the chances of the latter to gain the necessary expertise in the electronic exchange and the modern methods of banking deposit."
10. June 12: And last in this list (but there's lots more), culture has returned to Iraq. It's not quite like attending a concert at the Kennedy Center but the symphony is back. "Iraqis packed the red upholstered seats in the darkened hall of the National Theater in central Baghdad on Friday night, while men with machine guns stood in the aisles. Two snipers perched outside on a second-floor balcony. Guards frisked concertgoers as they entered.
But as they listened with serene faces to the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra playing the first sweet strains of Beethoven's 'Egmont' Overture, Opus 84, it seemed they had, even if only for an evening, defied the chaos and killing that has rearranged so many lives here."
So, in spite of the naysayers, freedom is dawning in Iraq. As always, the price of a free society is sacrifice and pain and blood but the new day will bring safety and liberty for us all.
In a press conference just weeks after the attack on New York City -- October 20, 2001 -- President Bush said, "I think the American people now fully understand that we are in an important struggle, a struggle that will take time." We must not give up until the job is done.
5 comments:
This is a very good list. The best I've seen in a while - I wish our leadership could be so articulate (as well as the MSM)... It is amazing what people can accomplish on their own in times of crises. Nobody wants to fail at this, but some have alternative motives for the success of others.
There are things that have benefited the people of Iraq, but also benefit American corporations/contractors much more (financially). Specifically, James Baker's personal interests through the Carlyle Group and Iraq's debt. It's great that their debt is nearly relieved, but it's not great that the Carlyle Group got a $2 bn initial investment from Kuwait for the assistance... just one example...
You'll be interested in a conversation I had with my grandson this morning, J.
telephoned today so I could wish him a happy 21st brithday (he's hard to catch, so he calls me!). I asked about his best friend, who graduated from the US Military Academy this month and he was
telling me about his buddy's experiences in Iraq.
It seems the troops aren't fighting over there as much as they are building. Ted's buddy, Turbo (his last name is Turboville), builds bridges. Seems that although the msm here emphasizes killing, what is really going on in Iraq is
construction.
"We are building," says Ted, "not tearing down." He's very proud of that and looking forward to going to Iraq to do his share next
summer after he graduates from West Point.
Ted and his fiancee are driving cross country, starting tomorrow, to Ted's month-long assignment at Ft. Lewis, WA. Actually I should be worrying more about him now than next year -- in 2004, 42,800 people died on our nation's
highways. Only 1743 of our troops have died in Iraq in three years and some of those were "friendly fire!" I think we can assume the nation's highways are far more dangerous than a tour of duty in Iraq. And a death on those highways accomplishes nothing; a death in Iraq strikes an honorable blow for freedom.
As for the companies --Halliburton and Carlyle -- they are the ones who were over there in the '90s, when the Clinton administration sent them there. They have the experience, the people with the cultural and language skills and they have taken the hits when employees were kidnapped and murdered. There's a lot more to that picture than you've mentioned.
The numbers you pose for traffic fatalities versus soldiers in Iraq are a bit skewed - as you probably know. There were 160,625,023 registered drivers in America in 2000. 42,800 people dying is a very small percentage compared to the number of troops that have died out of the ~120,000 or so in Iraq. Regardless, all deaths on the road and in Iraq are devasting to the families of the deceased. However, a huge blow to freedom is more that Bush only exudes fear of terrorism as the real threat to America. It is certainly time to stop using 9-11 as a warcry against Iraq when there is far less evidence of Saddam's influence than that of American influence. I'm still not convinced the whole atrocity wasn't "allowed" in order to get the American people to back US presence in the resource-rich regions of the world - backing the development of the American Empire. You're right, as you have been all along, that Clinton has the same blood on his hands, but hey he played the sax and had rosey cheeks.
You are just naturally rude, aren't you! "numbers for traffic fatalaties are skewed AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW" you say. I "know" no such thing since I got my information from the US Department of Transportation. They know. Do your research before you accuse me of lying. And if you can't mind your manners, don't come back.
"Deaths are down on the nation's highways: A total of 42,643 people died (in 2003), and 2.89 million were injured in 2003. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) was 1.48 in 2003, down from 1.51 in 2002. It was the first time the rate has dropped below 1.5. In 2002, 43,005 were killed and 2.93 million were injured."
If you want percentage, compare the deaths in Iraq to deaths in WWI, WWII, Korea and Viet Nam where daily death rates of over 5,000.
You're right. Every death is grieved and that is true whether people die in battle, on the highway or in a hospital bed.
American deaths on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, however, honor the nation and the very concepts of liberty and freedom.
We would not be at war in Iraq if it were not for 9/11. The American people would never have approved of it. President Bush should have stated the case that way, although it doesn't really matter. You and your pacifist buddies would spin it the way the Dems did anyway.
Talk about knowing better and talk about stupid: thinking for one minute that any American would "allow" the attack of NYC and Washington DC ranks right up there with the idiots who claim we didn't go to the moon, that all the moon shot photos were made on a movie set somewhere.
I bet you're a "greenie," too.
Skewed as in: simply comparing deaths in Iraq to deaths on the highway is skewed. The proportions are much different. I was not trying to be rude, just pointing to the obvious distinction. All you did by quoting the DOT was prove my point exactly.
Speaking of rude, you're just as bad as every partisan hack out there. Listen to yourself. You want to make change and make things better, yet you only want people to agree with you. You are angry and stagnant. Try some pacifism and tolerance. Otherwise you're just as worthless as everyone else on capital hill, yammering about your heightened sense of knowledge when all you push for is stupid rhetoric, which just pushes the divide further apart. Your attitude and everyone of your replicrat friends are just as much of the problem as Kerry or and the demicans. Learn some lessons from the past and realize that all this rediculous bullshit you write and rant about is just that: BULL SHIT. Try making some good for a change instead of pointing fingers. And try washing that blood from your hands, your time will come and they'd better be clean.
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