Thursday, March 16, 2006
The Iraq war – what the blogs, Iraqi’s and real media tell us
The liberal media continues to distort and exagerrate
by Ferdinand III
A simple example is the daily carnage repeated endlessly by the media. Each day there are more bombs, more dead and it appears more suffering. But Iraq has always been a violent place. To the peaceful citizen of nowheresville Canada the constant blood flowing from the TV screen screams that the war is a failure and innocents are dying. Well innocents are dying at the hands of fascists and terrorists and have been since 1932 when the British left Iraq and a military dictatorship was established. Carnage in Iraq is hardly news. For the Coalition force for example, contrary to media reports, casualties declined by 27 percent in 2005 and they are down by 62 percent in 2006, measured against the comparable period of 2005. Iraq is becoming safer for troops not more dangerous.
On the civilian front the same applies. There is no doubt that an Iraqi today would prefer the current chaos to the ‘good old days’ under Hussein. Iraq Body Count, an antiwar group that keeps a running tally of Iraqi civilian deaths, reports that the daily toll under the ‘occupation’ is in the range of 25 to 28 per day. This is high but let’s put it in perspective. Under the fascists and Hussein, the death toll averaged three times that, including 600,000 civilian executions recorded by the Documental Center for Human Rights, and the 100,000 Kurds killed during the Anfal operation in the mid 1990s. A violent day under the coalition would be just a routine hour under Saddam. But the media never adds such a perspective to their stories.
The economy also tells a different story. According to the Economist and a review by the Iraqi finance ministry, Iraq’s economy is heading into stability and high growth. The Iraqi currency - the dinar – is far more stable now than at any time in its history. A stable currency is a necessity to attract investment and establish viable businesses. Markets appreciate certainty and high inflation creates market havoc and destroys savings. Iraqi economic growth is surging ahead at over 20 % per annum – albeit from a low base. As the market continues to develop it is clear that we can expect this rapid growth to throw off real tangible social benefits as jobs, capital and product are supplied to an expanding and increasingly more confident Iraqi populace.
The economy can only expand however if two conditions are met. First there must be a proper infrastructure in power and transportation in place to ensure that can meet the needs of a growing economy. Second the oil infrastructure must be safeguarded and oil receipts used to rebuild a modern economy. It appears that both are being done quite well. There is a marked increase in electrical supply, and the doubling of oil revenues in the last 2 years. As infrastructure rebuilding has taken off, so too have the number of modern conveniences with an enormous increase in cell phones, cars, and satellite TVs. This increased prosperity manifests itself in improved services including hospitals, health care, and welfare aid. For example according to blogs and Iraqi sources, there is about a 60 percent decline in infant mortality in post-Saddam Iraq, and the improved access to schooling and medical care.
Along with a better economy and more wealth creation we also have the partial democratization of Iraqi politics and the unleashing of political forces and representation that had been denied Iraqi’s since 1932. We have seen of course a surging participation across all segments of the Iraqi populace in elections, not only in the national government, but in Iraq's city and state elections as well. There is also according to Iraqi blogs and government sources, a massive increase in the growth of political parties, and the proliferation of a free press in print and broadcast. The US military has done an admirable job not only in stimulating political plurality but importantly safeguarding the establishment of a free Iraqi-based and controlled media.
So where does all of this leave Iraqis? According to polls done by Arabic speakers for Oxford Research International near the beginning of 2004, then at the end of 2005, Iraqi’s are optimistic. The polls covered all of Iraq's major regions and demographic groups and are interesting reads. One question asked Iraqis to compare their current lives with their lives under Hussein. A great majority of Iraqis reported an improvement in the availability of necessities, and an improvement in overall economic well-being. Iraqis also felt that they had better access to clean water, health care, and education. Respondents surprisingly even believed that their local governments had improved. Asked what form of government they hoped to live under going forward, democracy won handily: four-to-one over the rule of one-man, and ten-to-one over totalitarianism.
Security is also improving. According to the above polls even a plurality of Iraqis now feel safer than under Hussein, and a majority feel safer from ordinary crime. Moreover, better than 60 percent feel personally safe in their neighborhoods. As one would expect the destruction of fascist tyranny and the creation of society based on rights, laws and norms of conduct is much preferred even in a transition period from murderous totalitarianism to some form of democratic representation. This is a signal victory in and of itself for the average Iraqi. Such an important point is another inconvenient fact ignored by the Western media.
The Iraqi situation will get even better. Now that Iraqi troops outnumber Coalition troops the fascists and terrorists who blow up civilians, women and children will soon feel the military boot of an elected and unified government on their necks. Far from plunging Iraq into sectarian civil war – a forecast that the media has wrongly proclaimed daily since the 2003 March invasion – the current Baathist and fascist bloodletting of innocents will only strengthen the will of the Iraqi people at large to use the government army and Coalition troops to wipe out the ‘insurgency’. Thus the very opposite will occur to what the media and fascists hope to achieve. Iraq will not descend into sectarian violence but will very soon decide, collectively as a people, to finally wipe out fascism and erase the memories of a very ugly, violent and murderous past.
The facts support such a conclusion, and reality will mandate such an occurrence.