Bleak News from Iraq

I can't imagine the psychological trauma that those who are living this conflict on the ground, living in Iraq, are experiencing. The US is unjustified in its military occupation of Iraq. And the occupation is breeding terrorism. The "surge" - or escalation of military hostilities - is only serving to increase the death toll and casualties for ordinary Iraqis.

The US owes Iraq reparations. But I don't think the current military (or the current government) is capable of delivering on that debt. It's a nasty crux. But there is hope. By holding prominent Bush Administration accountable for this wrongful military action, the US can send a clear message that it is serious about seeking justice - that it is serious about making amends for the wrongs of the invasion and occupation.

Truth-Tellers
by William S. Lind
link
As good news continues to flow from the "surge" – some of it true, some of it false and all of it spun – it is easy to forget the bottom line. The bottom line is whether or not we are beginning to see the re-emergence of a state in Iraq. Three recent news stories throw some light on that question, and it is not a favorable light.

The first, by Steven Hurst of the AP, ran in the August 26 Cleveland Plain Dealer under the title, "Sectarian violence in Iraq nearly double '06 level." Relying on the AP's own figures, the story reported that:

* Iraq is suffering about double the number of war-related deaths throughout the country compared with last year – an average daily toll of 33 in 2006 and 62 so far this year.

* Nearly 1,000 more people have been killed in violence across Iraq in the first eight months of this year than in all of 2006…

* Baghdad has gone from representing 76 percent of all civilian and police war-related deaths in Iraq in January to 52 percent in July, bringing it back to the same spot it was roughly a year ago.