Yes isn’t politics exciting?
However, here for your consideration are a few reminders of what’s going on in the real world of Iraq, where analysis of delegate counts and what people said about how proud of America they are, and whether someone should play nice or go even more negative in the upcoming contests in Ohio and Texas, means squat to the people living there and to the soldiers stationed there. To wit, a few stories the media on cable TV haven’t had time to bother much about during the latest “silly season.”
One reason why we fight in Iraq:
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq announced Tuesday it will buy 40 new aircraft from US manufacturer Boeing plus another six from Canadian firm Bombadier to revitalise an ailing fleet depleted by UN sanctions. […]
Government newspaper Al-Sabah said in a report on its website the deal with Boeing, valued at six billion dollars, is aimed at facilitating an increase of traffic to and from Iraq.
And how great is the security situation in Iraq? This great:
BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi Interior Ministry ordered police on Tuesday to begin rounding up beggars, homeless and mentally disabled people from the streets of Baghdad and other cities to prevent insurgents from using them as suicide bombers.
And one of those benchmarks the Iraqis we’re supposed to meet while we “surged” more troops into Iraq isn’t going so well:
BAGHDAD, Feb 18 (Reuters) – A law that could shape Iraq’s future by clearing the way for investment in its oil fields is deadlocked by a battle for control of the reserves and no end to the impasse is in sight, lawmakers and officials say. […]
… [T]he law remains stalled by bitter rows between Baghdad and the largely autonomous Kurdistan region in the north over who will control the fields and how revenue will be shared.
“Basically we’re talking about political will here,” said a U.S. official in Baghdad, who asked not to be identified.
“… There’s a lack of trust.”
Yet there is some “good news.” It seems one of our NATO allies is ready to send in its own troops to help liberate Iraq from the terrorists:
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey is considering a ground operation against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, private broadcaster CNN Turk quoted Foreign Minister Ali Babacan as saying on Tuesday.
“The option of a ground operation is on the table. The timing (of such an operation) and weather conditions are important,” Babacan was quoted as saying.
Turkey has massed tens of thousands of troops along its mountainous frontier with Iraq. It has already carried out several small-scale cross-border commando operations as well as aerial bombing raids against rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). […]
“We are cooperating with the United States in the fight against terrorism,” Babacan was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
And conservative think tanks think Democrats should stop talking about leaving Iraq, because thanks to the surge we’re winning the war:
Terrorism is collapsing across Iraq. In February 2007, when President Bush ordered 30,000 additional troops into Iraq — as Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) cheered and Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) jeered — only 8 percent of Baghdad’s neighborhoods were rated secure. That number is now 75 percent.
Which I’m sure is a great relief to the families of these American soldiers who gave their last full measure of devotion for their country in Baghdad:
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A roadside bomb killed three U.S. soldiers when it struck their vehicle in Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement on Wednesday.
And to all the Iraqis who sadly, are still dying:
BAGHDAD – Iraqi officials said 15 policemen were killed and more than 45 wounded in the Ubaidi district of eastern Baghdad on Tuesday when they failed to defuse rockets that had been prepared to launch from the back of a truck.
BAGHDAD – The deputy minister of science and technology was wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy in the Zayouna district of eastern Baghdad, police said. Two of his guards were also wounded.
BAGHDAD – Three bodies were found in different areas of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said.
Just a few of the media’s least favorite stories I thought you ought to know about, while we all celebrate our candidate’s latest victory or mourn our candidate’s latest defeat. Because whoever wins the “American Idol” reality TV show of American politics is going to have to deal with these issues, even if the media right now isn’t all that interested in covering them.
During my last couple of years as a television news producer, I watched the networks try to recover from a six year failure to bring truth to power (the political party in power being irrelevant incidentally; the job of the press is to maintain an adversarial relationship with the government at all times) and what’s worse, to pretend that they had a backbone all along. I watched my bosses literally stand in the middle of the newsroom and ask, “What can we do to not lead with Iraq?” — the reason being that Iraq, although an important story, wasn’t always a surefire ratings draw.
