Trying to get into the centre of Baghdad earlier this week offered one view of how far away the Americans and Iraqi authorities are from gaining control here. We were at the airport. Just before we were due to leave, the entrance car park was hit by a car bomb.
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While we waited with scores of other vehicles, mortars were fired at the airport.
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You won't have heard about any of this because at the same time a series of other far more serious attacks was taking place. One was at the Sadriya market in the city centre, where a massive car bomb killed more than 140 people.
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As we drove into the city, we counted six blast holes left by recent roadside bombs along just one 100-metre stretch or road. A large patch of damaged, blackened Tarmac on a bridge spoke of another attempt to destroy a key crossing.
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Last month alone there were more than 100 car bombings, and the number of attacks has continued at a similar rate so far this month.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
The BBC Goes Where American Media Dare Not
They actually bother to look at Baghdad and tell you what is going on.
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3 comments:
your fun's about to begin on thursday.
big time politics in s.c.!
Yes, you may be right about this. I find that our American media prefer to speculate on events in Iraq and follow rumors.
As a Marine who served two tours there, I'll tell you this: The ugliness you report is in fact present. However, there are other things that are rarely shown - simply because the ugliness is just so juicy. For example, if your local news station reported that the day went well, people are happy, and no one has been murdered, people simply wouldn't care. But once the media gets hold of one death that might just possibly be a murder, the public is more than happy to sit for hours and listen to all the speculation.
What do they not show, then? Thousands of Iraqi citizens thanking US representatives with tears in their eyes. Former Iraqi citizens blessing the day the Amrikki came in. Iraqi people finally showing that they've learned to stand up for themselves and their country and fight the fanatical religious extremists who make a mockery of their beliefs.
I have no shame in what I helped do, but I agree that it has gone on too long. This is no longer our war - it ended for us in '03. But the federal figureheads are too concerned with global image and may have forgotten their true responsibilities: the lives of Americans.
Thank you for your service, but I do think our entry was a huge mistake. I said so when the war was being sold to us, and I think time has proven me correct.
The sadest part is that this foolish misadventure in Iraq may end up losing us two wars... the one in Iraq, and the one we shoudl have been fighting in Afghanistan.
but as you noted:
federal figureheads are too concerned with global image and may have forgotten their true responsibilities
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