This is a great article from Thomas Sowell over at Capitalism Magazine.
Here we are, five months after the war in Iraq began, and we haven’t yet solved all of that country’s problems. Who would have thought that we would?
Apparently a significant section of the American media either thought that we would or is simply piling on the Bush administration, in hopes of bringing back the Democrats in 2004. The New York Times has led the way, managing to come up with at least one negative story to put on the front page almost every day.
When there is nothing bad to report from Iraq, they can always go interview families of soldiers who had been killed before, in order to continue a regular dose of negative news. We have, in effect, our own home-grown fifth column, even if their purpose is not to aid the enemy but to lay the groundwork for next year’s election.
………….
None of this goes unnoticed by our enemies. North Korea could dare to engage in nuclear blackmail, in defiance of overwhelming American strength, only because our internal divisions limit our options politically.
Despite all efforts to defuse the North Korean threat by diplomatic means, force may ultimately be the only language that the North Koreans understand. Unfortunately, there are too many Americans who do not understand that and too many for whom protest and indignation are a way of life – a potentially fatal habit.
I am not sure if the television media’s constant reporting of negatives in Iraq is due to the desire to undermine America, get as much sensationalism as possible, or both. However, the fact remains that the majority of media outlets are not accurately reporting the situation in Iraq.
See “Bush Good, Saddam Bad”
AL HILLAH, Iraq–There’s more to America than New York, Washington and Los Angeles. The same is true for Iraq; there’s a vast country outside Baghdad and the “Sunni triangle” that’s now the center of a guerrilla campaign. It’s understandable that Western press reports are fixated on attacks that kill American soldiers. But that focus is obscuring what’s actually happening in the rest of the country–and it misleads the public into thinking that Iraqis are growing angry and impatient with their liberators.(Hat tip: Little Green Footballs)In fact, there is another Iraq that the media virtually ignore. It is guarded by the First Marine Division, and, unlike Baghdad, it has been a model of success. The streets are safe, petty and violent crime are low, water and electrical services are almost universally available (albeit rationed), and ordinary Iraqis are beginning to clean up and rebuild their neighborhoods and communities. Equally important, a deep level of mutual trust and respect has developed between the Marines and the populace here in central and southern Iraq.
…………..
The “Arab Street” I’ve meet in Iraq loves–that’s not too strong of a word–America and is deeply grateful for our presence. Far from resenting the American military, most Iraqis seem to fear that we will leave too soon and that in our absence the Baath Party tyranny will resume. This sentiment is readily apparent whenever we venture into the city. We don’t make it far outside of our camp before throngs of happy, smiling children greet us.
“Good, good!” they yell, as they run into the street, often oblivious to oncoming traffic. They give us a hearty thumbs-up and vigorously wave and pump their hands. They are eager to see us and to talk with us. To them, it is clear, we are heroes who liberated them from Saddam Hussein.
“Bush good, Saddam bad!” many Iraqis tell us emphatically–and repeatedly. I’m not sure how George W. Bush is faring with the American public, but he’s got a lock on Al Hillah.
Iraqis routinely ask me to “thank Mr. Bush for freeing us of Saddam” and tell me, “We are very grateful, because you have freed us of our worst nightmare, Saddam Hussein.” (A lot of Iraqis speak surprisingly good English because most studied it in primary and secondary school.)
It all reminds me of my experience a decade ago in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Most ordinary Russians, Poles and Czechs hailed Ronald Reagan as a hero for bringing down the “evil empire” when few people had the courage even to call it that.
In much the same way, ordinary Iraqis have a tremendous reservoir of goodwill for the president who coined the term “axis of evil"–and who then acted to eradicate a primary source of that evil.
The Iraqis know who their foes are too. Two Iraqi children once spontaneously shouted to me, “France, Chirac!” while giving the thumbs-down sign and shaking their heads disapprovingly. The children quickly smiled and shouted “Bush!” while punching the sky.
“We are very glad that you are here and we hope you never leave,” Zaid, a 31-year-old mechanical engineer, told me. “If you leave, then there will be more trouble. The Bath Party thugs will take over.”
