Where Is This Iraq "Progress"?

(CBS)  This story was written by CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey, in Baghdad.

---

Someone once said that the job of president (or prime minister, or any other kind of national leader) should not be given to anyone who actually wants it. That being unrealistic, perhaps there ought to at least be a rule that says no one should be allowed to seek such employment unless they demonstrate a grasp of reality greater than the reach of their own ambitions.

Case in point, at least from the perspective of Baghdad, which is, after all, the epicenter of the issue that dominates the U.S. presidential "race", is Senator John McCain's recent analysis of the situation here.

According to transcripts of his appearance on CNN's "Late Edition", the senator confirmed that he had made the following statement: "There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods today."

He went on to add "General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed Humvee." Apart from the fact that he probably meant "unarmored", the statement displays a woeful ignorance of the news from here.

Even those who buy the argument that the media "reports only bad things," can hardly deny that there is bad news. Surely that ought to count double for someone seeking a job that includes the description of commander-in-chief for a war he says may not be over by the time the position next becomes vacant.

For example, the Associated Press' first lead of the day today (March 29, 2007) began thus: "A bomb planted under a parked car tore through an outdoor market in a mixed Baghdad neighborhood Thursday, killing several people and wounding at least 20, police and hospital officials said."

In other news, two policemen were killed when they approached a car containing a corpse and it exploded. Gunmen targeted the head of the traffic police this morning. He escaped but two traffic policemen were killed. The bodies of 13 people were found across Baghdad. They had all been shot. The deputy governor of Kirkuk escaped a roadside bomb. A female engineer was kidnapped as she left her office in Diwaniya. Iraqi forces arrested 14 insurgents and found a cache of weapons in Hilla.

By an unofficial count, there have been seven major explosions in Baghdad so far today, at least some of them car bombs.

There was, however, some good news, at least in the context of Iraq. The U.S. military reported that only one of two truck bombs used in attacks on Iraqi and American forces in Falluja contained chlorine. And things could improve. It is only one p.m. local time as this is being written.

Senator McCain has visited Iraq in the past, and no doubt will again as the U.S. election campaign gains momentum. VIPs are generally flown to the Green Zone (a.k.a. the "International Zone"), which houses the American and other embassies as well as most of the Iraqi government. A notice to U.S. embassy employees today, issued shortly before the new ambassador, Ryan Crocker, was sworn in cited "the recent increase of indirect fire attacks in the embassy compound".

The Green Zone has been hit by mortars or rockets at least six times in the last seven days. One person has been killed and ten wounded. Embassy personnel reportedly have been instructed that body armor and helmets are now required for all "outdoor activities" within the four square-mile zone. That includes walking to the cafeteria.

If the Senator decides to hang out with the troops, he might take note of the signs and regulations that govern their conduct and provide a good indication as to how things are going here. Before leaving the sprawling U.S. base known as Camp Victory, which is adjacent to the Baghdad International Airport, there is a special place for weapons to be loaded, and anti-IED devices known as "Warlocks" switched on.

At every exit from the camps around the airport and the Green Zone there is a sign which reads: "All Weapons Red. Lock and Load."

No one in their right mind goes on the streets here without security, a situation succinctly summed up by retired General Barry McCaffrey in a document he compiled in his job as a West Point professor. The general, who until late last year was of the publicly-held opinion that things were improving, was quoted in the New York Times as saying that because the government here does not hold sway in any province, "no Iraqi government official, coalition soldier, diplomat, reporter, foreign NGO [nongovernmental organization], nor contractor can walk the streets of Baghdad, nor Mosul, nor Kirkuk, nor Basra, nor Tikrit, nor Najaf, nor Ramadi, without heavily armed protection."

When Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went to Fallujah earlier this month to talk to tribal sheikhs who are now willing to take American money and arms to fight the insurgents, the honour guard of Iraqi troops on hand to meet his helicopter did not have magazines in their AK47s. All weapons had been cleared and ammunition taken away before he arrived. The only lethal weapons were in the hands of al-Maliki's personal security detail, which includes Western contractors.

For Senator McCain to claim there are places here where all is well is to woefully minimize the dangers faced by the troops he otherwise so admirably supports. A patrol of military police on their way to one of the about-to-be-established Joint Security Stations last week provides another case in point.

Leave aside the fact that the soldiers run a gauntlet of IEDs every day just to get there, and the convoy had to stop, gunners nervously scanning the surrounding houses and crossroads, until someone decided that a piece of debris in the road did not hide an IED. It was merely part of the seat of Humvee that had been blown up the day before, killing four soldiers. Once inside the walls of the fortified police station of their students and supposed allies, no American soldier took off a single piece of protective gear. American sentries backed up the Iraqis on the gate and roof. Humvee drivers stayed with their vehicles.

A young sergeant was assigned to accompany myself and cameraman Mark LaGanga wherever we went. When I suggested that it was fine and the sergeant could take a break, he replied quietly; "No sir. I need to be with you. Wouldn't want to take the risk of you being kidnapped."

"In a police station?" I asked. "You're kidding."

"No sir," he replied, "I am not."

Any time Senator McCain wants to walk the streets of Baghdad, unarmed and without a serious security detail, we'd be glad to lend him a camera so he can record his experience.

[grumpas]

The Republican noise machine has been telling us for 4 long years now it's improving in Iraq! Only to discover once again they don't have a clue what they are talking about. I stopped listening to anything they had to say a long time ago. McCain is smoking the same kind of crazy weed Bush has been for the last 7 years. All we need is another nut case like him in office! So, think hard before you vote Republican!

[ramos937]

After he had been tortured while in Vietnam POW camp, McCain was offered the chance to be free. He laid down a condition that the rest of his buddies had to be freed also before he accepted. They were not and he was not. That makes him a hero in my book and entitled to much slack.

Wolf Blizner, The Situation Room, interviewed Mike Ware, a correspondent based in Bagdad. Ware was told of McCain's claim that it was safe to walk certain parts of Bagdad for Americans and that the General went about in unarmed vehicles. Ware, a long time visitor to Iraq, said any American doing so in any part of Iraq, would be committing suicide. Also, that all high ranking military folks do not go out of the Green Zone. When they must, they are heavily guarded and protected.

[knyghtwolf]

Celebrate April FIRST by PROUDLY displaying your support of BUSH DAY April 1st...I have all my tee shirts all cleaned and pressed and ready to go...BUSH DAY, April first...don't forget it!!!!!!

[bluestardad]

One of the few good articles on this board! McCain is once again lying to the public trying to put a good face on the entirely bad experience of Iraq for the Republicans. He has not learned from his Dicktater that no matter how many times you say it does still not make it true!

[kcstan11]

I like McCain but ...

If he is going to walk the streets of Bahgdad I hope that he takes Dumbya, Cheney, Rice, Wolfowicz and Rumsfeld with him ...

I am sure that none of them could resist the temptation of having "flowers thrown at their feet".

This was an excellant HONEST article by Allen Pissey.

[r9119111]

I hope no one suffers from the delusion that the Iraq War has or will ever benefit the American people. There are no good reasons for us to be in Iraq, trying to impose our will on them. If we just redeployed and allowed the inhabitants in that area to settle their own differences, there would undoubtedly be much chaos and bloodshed. That is the way people in that area have always settled their differences. Instead, we should mind our own business and go about the process of building a life without heavy oil dependence. We should have been doing this since it became apparent the oil reserves were running low and dependence of oil use was increasing. Big Money Interests could never allow divergence from their plans because it would allow competition to squeeze into their profit margins.

The world is overpopulated right now and world tension is only going to increase. In the future, natural resources, like oil, are going to be used up at an alarming rate. All of the surviving people of the world will be fighting for the same limited supply of resources. Population control and a sensible approach to governance will be unavoidably necessary. Let%u2019s be realistic. Cooperation demands sacrifice. Do you think greedy people will ever allow that to happen? LOL

[p-syrus]

Since it is in the interests of both Al Qaeda and Iran to destablize Iraq, they will work together for a while. They'll fight later, when we're gone.

Posted by opfor311 at 09:14 PM : Mar 29, 2007

Got it wrong.

Since the most likely way to stabilize Iraq is with a government dominated by religious shiites, Iran is actually far more interested in aqctually stabilising Iraq than the bush administration is. The only other practical possibility is establishment of another iraqi "strongman" (i.e. Saddam II) which wouldn't go down well with european allies & would be hard to square with bush administration propaganda.

Further, Al Qaeda regards all shia as apostate heretics, a religious category far more unacceptable to them than mere infidels like christians & secular westerners. Shia understand this and accordingly would never cooperate with Al Qaeda. It would be their own death warrant.

Al Qaeda's primary goal is the re-establishment of sunni religious muslim dominance in the muslim world in opposition to the western secularist influences which have established themselves in recent decades. If they achieve that goal they'll seek to eliminate all forms of insufficiently strict sunni practice such as secularism, shia, sufi & bahai next.

[opfor311]

jpesot,

I remember an old Arab proverb that goes, 'I against my brothers, my brothers and I against our cousins, my cousins and I against the world.'

What it means is that while they have private squabbles among themselves (to include murder most foul), they will band together against a outside threat long enough to vanquish it, then they will return to their own fights.

Since it is in the interests of both Al Qaeda and Iran to destablize Iraq, they will work together for a while. They'll fight later, when we're gone.

Oh, by the way, the same reason was why there was a low level of contact and cooperation between the Saddam and Al Qaeda before the war.

[montraville]

Also the GMC Yukon Denial!

Actually, business is a bigger consumer of energy than private individuals driving their cars, but business is also taking more of an initiative, because when rising energy costs threaten their bottom line, they do rational things like install solar panels, fluorescent lights, and insulation.

Irrational private consumers just call up Bill O'Reilly and complain, and he instantly betrays capitalism and goes on his show, ranting against futures market "speculators" like Huey Long did in the '30s. Seeing Bill toss the affluent half of his constituency overboard was really enjoyable.

[montraville]

The US is an amazing country. We have a lot of energy and collective power. If we decide to put our collective energy into making true oil conservation a reality. Then we won't have to fight people to get access to cheap oil. If we cut our consumption, our expenses will fall and the oil will last longer.

In the 1970's Jimmy Carter said we should approach our energy problems with "the moral equivalency of war" and he was right. If we had listened to him back then, we wouldn't be at war now.

So cut all new highway construction and divert the money to mass transit. Make all mass transit internet-friendly so people can leave their house knowing when a bus is going to arrive on their corner.

Mandate the highest feasible hiking of MPG numbers that can be done.

Require all four-wheeled vehicles over a certain weight to be heavily taxed, a tax exemption being allowed only for commercial licenses.

Require all new construction be highly energy- efficient.



Raise taxes on fuel enough to limit demand.