Five years after the launching of the Iraq Aggression, our fearless Leader declared the invasion a "major strategic victory in the broader war on terror."
But Bush's propaganda is belied by reality.
It's easy to be fearless when you're making such declarations from the safety of the Pentagon. But whenever Bush or any of his cabinet members go to Iraq, they have to slink in under cover of darkness because it's so dangerous.
I've already detailed the many ways in which the Aggression has been a disaster, both for Americans and Iraqis. And how it's been a great triumph for the theocrats in Iran.
And a recent poll of Iraqis showed that while many feel that some things are better now than under, still 57 percent want all foreign troops to leave the country immediately. Additionally, 81 percent of non-Kurdish Iraqis view Americans as occupiers, not liberators.
And most to the point: only a third of all Iraqis believe that the Occupation is doing more good than harm.
Only 11 percent felt the Occupation forces were doing enough to restore basic services like drinking water and electricity, services that were taken for granted under Saddam's regime.
This is echoed by the Red Cross. The resolutely, sometimes frustratingly, neutral organization called the situation in Iraq one of the most dire humanitarian emergencies in the world.
And while far right ideologues will call into question the integrity of one of the most respected organizations in the world, just as they do to anyone who isn't a blind apologist for this Disaster, reality continues to smack us in the face... none more so than the Iraqis themselves.
There's one fact that screams for attention.
The number of Iraqis seeking asylum in 2007 nearly DOUBLED as compared to 2006.
If things are getting better, then why are people fleeing at an unprecedented rate?
This in 2007, after five years of US control of Iraq.
The Iraqis obviously aren't sure how much more "Liberation" they can take.
And here's one more fact, after half a year of the vaunted Surge.
35 percent of Iraq's pre-war population remain either refugee in other countries or displaced within Iraq.
These are facts that speak clearly to the situation because they are actions taken by people not to save their jobs or what's left of their integrity, but to save their lives. As such, they speak with much more authority than some ideologue pontificating from a keyboard in a comfortable American suburban living room.
Or from the White House.
3 comments:
This may sound slightly odd, but perhaps because things have quieted down, more Iraqis are willing to quite literally venture outside their homes and cities and apply to leave the country.
Mark,
Perhaps in a few cases, but if things were quieting down, why would there be such an increasing demand to leave in the first place?
The problem is not the failure of the surge in reducing violence (it is). The problem is that the surge is not sustainable on our part, and that political progress has been all too slow. We probably both agree that most armed groups are probably biding their time.
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