MommaBear has noticed the recent posts by Iraqi bloggers, who seem to have intelligent feedback about what the USA needs to do in their country. Unlike many members of America's Democratic Party, they seem to want the USA to succeed.
Question: how can we make sure these Iraqi views get passed on and heard?
My second question concerns Iran. Remember our oh-so-moral Belgian "friends"? How come they seem so solicitous of the rights of al-Qaeda members and suicide bombers, but are just fine with deporting Iranian refugees back to face possible torture and worse in Iran? If you want to support the Iranian refugees, here's the petition.
Thank you for your support in posting this question. The "powers that be" seem to be deaf at a time when their hearing needs to be the most acute.
They aren't deaf, MommaBear. They're just trying to hear a whisper at an AC/DC concert.
Can anybody comment on this report? http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/7239049.htm
CIA has a bleak analysis of Iraq:
A report found more civilians there are supporting the resistance. It conflicts with upbeat public assessments.
Found it on Drudge at 4:30pm. Seems to be in direct contravention to most Iraqi blogs I've been reading.
This came from a leaked version that some guy in D.C. saw. These field reports are simply that, field reports. A snap shot of the area at that time. Like most snap shots, you only see that picture, and only that picture. Bush and his team get a much fuller pcture when they pull this report with what they have from other sources. When a story like this gets out, it's always cause somebody in the halls of power are losing, and they don't like it. Typical inside beltway story.
I wouldn't dismiss it so quickly, Homer. The dynamic described by the station chief is plausible, and there are many in the Sunni triangle who can be described as "latent hostile" due to their associations with Saddam.
Doesn't mean it's the whole story by any means, and your point re: a snapshot is valid. But it can still be part of the truth.
Tim, all I suggest is that you do what we try to do here: read the good, the bad, and the ugly, and try to make sense of it all. Things will never be uniformly good, or uniformly bad. so... what are the key trends? Are things beter now than 6 months ago? What are the key things to watch out for, positive and negative? Etc.
In an age where too much news is spun, there is unfortunately no substitute for building up this capbility for yourself. Best we can do here is to regularly provide it with some raw material to chew on... and we'll bust our butts to do just that.
If you think that's bad, check out this report from the Guardian:
"One military intelligence assessment now estimates the insurgents' strength at 50,000. Analysts cautioned that such a figure was speculative, but it does indicate a deep-rooted revolt on a far greater scale than the Pentagon had led the administration to believe."
What the hell is going on over there? If it was 50,000 wouldn't there be some sort of civil war?
i've heard that many of them are now on hunger strike.
the belgian government don't want to grant them refugee status because if it does so, it will mean that it is accepting de facto that its islamic ally is a repressive regime. this will create for belgians many problems in their business relations with the mullahs.