Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor
The news from Iraq, as it is being presented in the major media, is all bad. Car bombings, firefights, mounting US casualties, massacres and torture of American civilians, the prison scandal and the beheading of Nick Berg by al-Qaeda operative Abu Musad al Zarqawi.
The most recent atrocity occurred when an al-Qaeda jihadist drove a car bomb into a line of Iraqis waiting to enlist in the new Iraqi Army. At least fifteen potential recruits were killed in the attack; scores more were wounded.
The attack underscores both truths about Iraq in a single stroke. The first is that we continued to be engaged in a real, honest-to-Pete hot war with the Iraqi jihadists under Zarqawi's command, while simultaneously fighting Iraqi insurgent forces organized under the banner of Moqtada al Sadr's militia.
The second truth was ignored by the press. The attack took place at a coalition-friendly Iraqi army recruiting station. It was selected as a target-rich environment. But what MADE it a target-rich environment were the hundreds of Iraqis waiting in line to enlist in the Army -- to fight the insurgents alongside the coalition.
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Posted by cwilli at May 20, 2004 12:34 AM | TrackBackJack Kensella hits it right on the head once again.
"If the mainstream press put the spotlight on al-Zarqawi, it would steal the thunder from the antiwarriors who continue to claim the war in Iraq was unjustified. There is no point in highlighting al-Zarqawi's ties to al-Qaeda, since directly tying al-Qaeda to Iraq nullifies the charge that George Bush trumped up justification for invading Iraq.
Instead of blaming al-Qaeda, or even al-Zarqawi, the blame gets shifted to the White House. Since this is war, and not some game, it amounts to giving aid and comfort to America's enemy in time of war -- and about half the country, and almost the entire rest of the world -- is ok with that? "
Exactly
Posted by: cwilli at May 20, 2004 12:41 AMThe mood can change up and down. But if things are not so dark as they are portrayed now, were they so rosy as they were portrayed yesterday ? And could it be that it is exactly that "rosy" attitude : there won't be any problem, we'll be greated with open arms, war is easy, order will be easily kept, and so on...
that has helped fueled the current dark situation.
Of course many irakis want a stable country and a democracy ! But the opposition between kuds chiites, sunnites, radical and moderate chiites ... are real.
Muddy says
Instead of blaming al-Qaeda, or even al-Zarqawi, the blame gets shifted to the White House. Since this is war, and not some game, it amounts to giving aid and comfort to America's enemy in time of war -- and about half the country, and almost the entire rest of the world -- is ok with that? "
You can of course phrase it the other way.
Instead of blaming it's own bullish and dangerous policies, the white house keeps creating new enemies, fueling terrorist anger and international disorder instead of fighting it... And since this is war and not some game, it amounts to declaring war to almost the entire world, and the white house is OK with that ?
The paragraph is rather hard, but it should make you think.
There was another post about winning hearts and being right. The question always comes down to : what are the rules you want to follow ?
Who do you want to be friend with ?
Things can not be that one sided.
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Posted by: pawel at May 23, 2004 12:09 AM