Raining on the President's parade
In an new article titled "Cut and Run," the Independent's Patrick Cockburn throws cold water on the photo-op the President staged with the Marines out in Anbar. He's about to tell us things are so good in Anbar(and by extension the rest of the country), we can start DRAWING DOWN our troops(!). Cockburn sneers at the Americans, who are "cutting," and the British, who are "running" from Basra for the exits. When the "tide is turning" talk begins, here are a few inconvenient facts to keep in mind:
"The administration has been seeking to give the impression that the US military may at last be turning the corner in Iraq, though Iraqi politicians in Baghdad believe very little has changed on the ground.
One sign that Iraqis themselves believe security in the country is getting worse is that the number of Iraqis fleeing their homes in fear of their lives has risen from 50,000 a month to 60,000 a month according to the UN High Commission for Refugees. Some 4.2 million Iraqis are now refugees inside and outside the country.
Although the US has been pressing the Iraqi government to push through parliament a series of benchmark measures that would supposedly lead to reconciliation between Sunni, Shia and Kurd the different Iraqi communities are too frightened of each other to live in the same street or village.
There are other signs that violence in Iraq is not lessening. Figures compiled by AP show 1,809 Iraqi civilians were killed in August, compared with 1,760 in July. There has been a reduction in sectarian killings in Baghdad but that may be because Mr Sadr stood down the Mehdi Army, blamed for many of the killings of Sunni civilians, in February.
The number of US military killed was 81 in August, an increase of two over July but less than this year's high point of 126 in May. There is usually reduction in attacks on the US forces at this time of year when the temperature soars to 120F."
The President may now be preparing to pull a Gorbachev--claim victory and bring the troops home--but make no mistake, the disaster is deepening.
"The administration has been seeking to give the impression that the US military may at last be turning the corner in Iraq, though Iraqi politicians in Baghdad believe very little has changed on the ground.
One sign that Iraqis themselves believe security in the country is getting worse is that the number of Iraqis fleeing their homes in fear of their lives has risen from 50,000 a month to 60,000 a month according to the UN High Commission for Refugees. Some 4.2 million Iraqis are now refugees inside and outside the country.
Although the US has been pressing the Iraqi government to push through parliament a series of benchmark measures that would supposedly lead to reconciliation between Sunni, Shia and Kurd the different Iraqi communities are too frightened of each other to live in the same street or village.
There are other signs that violence in Iraq is not lessening. Figures compiled by AP show 1,809 Iraqi civilians were killed in August, compared with 1,760 in July. There has been a reduction in sectarian killings in Baghdad but that may be because Mr Sadr stood down the Mehdi Army, blamed for many of the killings of Sunni civilians, in February.
The number of US military killed was 81 in August, an increase of two over July but less than this year's high point of 126 in May. There is usually reduction in attacks on the US forces at this time of year when the temperature soars to 120F."
The President may now be preparing to pull a Gorbachev--claim victory and bring the troops home--but make no mistake, the disaster is deepening.
posted by buckarooskidoo at 12:21 AM
1 Comments:
Bucky, what ever the Neocon Nincompoop says, I'll have a load of it in the front yard to fertilize the lawn, please.
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