Gitmo Cocktail
New York Post
June 16, 2005
By Ralph Peters
The demands to shut down our Guantanamo lock-up for terrorists have nothing to do with human rights. They're about punishing America for our power and success. From our ailing domestic left to overseas America haters, no one really cares about the fate of Mustapha the Murderer o Ahmed the Assassin. The lies told about Gitmo are meant to undercut U.S. foreign policy and embarrass America. The Gitmo controversy is about many things, from jealousy of the United States and outrage that we refuse to fail, to residual anger that we won the Cold War and exploded the left's great fantasy of a dictatorship of the intellectuals. But the one thing the protests aren't about is human rights. Except, of course, as a means to slam the United States Torture? Who and when? Koran abuse? I'd rather be a Koran in Gitmo than a Bible in Saudi Arabia. Illegal detentions? Suggest a better way to handle hardcore terrorists. Maltreatment? Spare me. The food the prisoners receive is better than what I had to eat in the Army.
Another thing: Would it be more humane to incarcerate the declared enemies of civilization in northern Alaska, rather than on a Caribbean beach?
Has the Bush administration made mistakes regarding Guantanamo? You bet. The biggest one was attempting to placate the critics. By launching a new investigation every time a terrorist had a toothache, our government played into the hands of its enemies. The truth is that the terrorists and their defenders have something in common. It's not courage, which is one quality violent fanatics don't lack. It's that neither can be appeased.
Any concession only increases their appetites. The Clinton administration's reluctance to respond to terrorist strikes encouraged al Qaeda. If the Bush administration closed the Guantanamo facility, any alternative holding center would be attacked just as rabidly and dishonestly.
If we put our captives up at the Four Seasons, we'd be condemned because somebody smelled bacon at breakfast.
You can't negotiate with terrorists. And you cannot reason with ideologues - whether they're Islamist fanatics or pathetic old lefties fishing for a cause to give meaning to squandered lives. Terrorists, French and German neo-Stalinists, and our own democracy-hating intelligentsia aren't interested in facts. It's all about the comfort of belief.
Let's get this straight: Nothing we could do would appease those who feel a need for our country to fail. We must stop trying to satisfy them. There's a military maxim that applies to all the nonsense about Gitmo: Don't let the entire battalion get bogged down by a sniper. By attempting to respond to the wild charges leveled by those who offer no solutions themselves - who have no interest in solutions - we've allowed anti-American basket cases from Harvard Yard to the German parliament to create an issue from nothing.
Oh, and thanks to the "mainstream" media for assuming that our country's always wrong. There is a culture of torture in the world. Blessedly, America isn't part of it. When a few of our troops make mistakes, they're punished. Given the magnitude of our task and the unprecedented conditions we face, it's remarkable our errors have been so few.
What should enrage every decent citizen is that thereal torturers - from Zimbabwe to China, from Syria to North Korea - get a pass from the political left. If terrorists behead defenseless captives on videotape, it's simply an expression of their culture. But if a handful of U.S. troops play an ugly round of Candid Camera, that's a new gulag.
As someone who takes human rights seriously, I'm appalled by the lack of sympathy the left feels toward the victims of any regime other than the Bush administration. Let's shout it to prisoners everywhere: If you're not harmed by an American, your suffering doesn't count.
The left's hypocrisy is immeasurable. The grandchildren of those who defended Stalin are mortified that Saddam Hussein will stand trial. By taking such irresponsible voices seriously, we grant our critics a strength they otherwise lack and simply help them keep their lies alive.
No matter what our country does, we will never please a global intelligentsia outraged that all their theories came to nothing. We can't satisfy al Qaeda, and we can't please those discontented souls who need to blame the United States for their personal inadequacies. It's time we stopped trying.
What should our nation's leaders say about Guantanamo and our treatment of captured terrorists? A lot less.
When comments are unavoidable, try this: "We're human. We make mistakes. We fix those mistakes. And we move on. Nothing will divert us from our mission of defeating terror and keeping our country safe."
Ralph Peters' next book, "New Glory, Expanding America's Global Supremacy," is due out in August.
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Foreign nation's jealousy of the United States?
This Ralph Peters is almost as silly as Elmer's Brother.
P.S. Truth-Monger is an American Citizen
Comment by Expatriated American— 2005/06/23 @ 08:05 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmer's Brother— 2005/06/24 @ 05:37 AM — (Reply)
We get answers like: " "
When the right is no longer accountable for their actions, even tree hugging hippies turn to insults, violence even politics and journalism. Unless they're Noam Chomsky or something. At least Noam isn't hysterical.
After the Abu Gharib photos and the following lack of punishment faced by upper level military personnel, who would believe that the US Military/CIA is beyond torture?
That would be like catching your woman in bed with another guy, then believing she's never done it before and won't do it again.
who would believe that?
Apparently quite a few people or else I wouldn't be writing this.
Comment by the center— 2005/06/26 @ 11:00 PM — (Reply)
and you think that absolves you from a cogent argument?
Comment by elmers bro— 2005/06/27 @ 02:55 AM — (Reply)
Well they did fire a few generals. You still have not answered questions like...Were the Afghans better off with the Taliban or the Iraqi's with Saddam Hussein? So if you want to discuss the issues and maybe we end up agreeing to disagree..that's okay we can agree to disagree. Who knows we might even understand each other better. But who looks sillier? Someone with an opinion based on facts, beliefs, values and experience or someone who can't stand the fact that someone could not agree with their point of view and then proceeds to toss insults?
Comment by Elmers Bro— 2005/06/27 @ 03:58 AM — (Reply)
It'll be a while before we can say. There's a lot of Sunni's in Iraq that would say, No. Afghanisthan is producing more herion than ever. If you've got some news about how wonderful and promising life in either of these two contries is, please post it, i'd love to read it.
How did the Taliban come to power in the first place? Who helped Saddam remain in power as long as he did?
Does Elmer, do you, honestly, think the US military and CIA are beyond torture?
I'm serious.
Comment by the center— 2005/07/03 @ 04:08 PM — (Reply)
Well we did support the ouster of the Russians and if you look at my other posts you will see that I have said before that the US certainly could have made different decisions. The other thing is that Afghanistan did not declare itself an Islamic state until 1996. You are right in that there is still a lot of work to be done. Our own fight for independence lasted 7 years and there was no certainty it would last. However to answer your question here is a partial but not all inclusive list of how life is better in Afghanistan and Irag than under the previous regimes. Second if you have some proof that the US military and CIA are engaged in full scale torture and not being held accountable than by all means offer up the proof. To date there have been abuses, those have been investigated and those responsible have been held to account. You might want to describe your definition of torture because if you mean making life stressful by changing the temperature or making them stay awake....please I went through more in my twenty years in the military...have you seen the cookbook that has come out of Gitmo..including culturally appropriate meals.. The Geneva Convention was written to protect us from these very same animals. Under the Geneva Convention they have no rights, but still we treat them humanely, give them Koran's when our own soldiers are treated to beheadings and videotaped executions. Please. In conclusion if there was wholesale torture going on it wouldn't happen for long because of our open society and the information they are gathering (assuming you are an American) is preventing other attacks. You may think otherwise but in the end these investigations are a mark of a society that wants to stay transparent.
Now for how life is better. We will start in Iraq.
Elections have occured now in (count them-- one, two) three countries that those who don't believe in a positive future said could never happen so fast and that people over there just aren't ready for democracy. Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine have had elections. If you think this is insignificant than you just spit in 8.5 million people's faces.
Iraqi women, men, and children lived under an oppressive ruler for over 30 years. The transition to a free world and a brand new chance on life is stressful and difficult. But the end result is a better way of life and a better world.
A free and democratic election in January marked a symbolic transition of Iraq from the dictatorial past towards a more hopeful future. Just as important as the change in political processes is the change in attitudes; to succeed, Iraq needs to acquire not just the democratic veneer but also a democratic mind-set. As Iraq's "Al-Sabah" newspaper reports, the National Assembly seems to be on the right path, taking very seriously its role in scrutinizing the government's performance.
Economically
There is also good news coming from the Iraqi stock exchange:
"There's an old Arab proverb: Throw a lucky man in the sea and he will come up with a fish in his mouth. As Iraq rebuilds its economy, the country's businessmen are hoping that Mr Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam will prove to be a lucky man.
This 40-year-old's onerous task, the lucky fish he's been asked to deliver, is the new Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX), a centrepiece of the country's financial reconstruction. (It's a replacement for the former Baghdad Stock Exchange, a now-defunct plaything of Saddam Hussein's family, especially his late son, Uday.)
The news so far is good: At a time when many Iraqis find themselves in very stormy seas, the ISX, of which Mr Taha Ahmed is chief executive, is able to report progress.
In trade news, the Ministry of Trade is currently setting up a series of bilateral committees to facilitate commercial relations with the United States, Europe and Japan. In banking news, "National Bank of Kuwait, the Arab lender with the highest credit rating, agreed to buy the Credit Bank of Iraq in what may be the first foreign purchase of an Iraqi lender in at least four decades." Ibrahim Dabdoub, National Bank's chief executive is positive about the future: "Iraq's medium-term prospects are very good, because in the end, this insurgency has to end." The Arab Banking Corporation is also planning to shortly enter the Iraqi financial market.
NGO's which have been doing a lot of excellent work in Iraq, have recently awarded a $20 million contract to BearingPoint, Inc, of Virginia, "to develop and implement international economic practices aimed at improving economic governance in Iraq and developing a policy-enabling environment for private sector-led growth in the country. The three-year contract is expected to assist in reforming tax, fiscal and customs policies as well developing an IMF acceptable monetary policy through building the capacity of Iraq's Central Bank. Under the terms of the contract, BearingPoint will also assist the Iraq Ministry of Finance to develop a modern, well regulated banking sector. BearingPoint will also work with the Ministry to create an environment that promotes private sector-led growth through housing finance reforms and commercial law and institutional reforms." You can also read about the contract here.
Great Britain and China have expressed their willingness to cooperate in rebuilding Iraqi communications infrastructure; Britain wants to build communication networks, while China is interested in training communication specialists. Singaporean e-Sys Group is already unrolling its IT network through Iraq: "Plans are to have multiple channel partners in the country which, despite the present problems, could emerge as one of the bigger regional markets for technology requirements over the medium term." Meanwhile, at the Iraq Reconstruction 2004 conference held at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Batelco has also offered to assist with rebuilding Iraqi telecommunication infrastructure. And Israelis, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians will be able to use their cell phones in Iraq without switching networks, thanks to a roaming agreement reached between the Israeli company Cellcom and Kuwaiti-owned Asiacell, which supplies cellular phone services to Iraq.
In oil news, Iraq is lifted its output to 3.25 million barrels per day at the end of this year, from 2.8 million currently achieved. This would bring the oil production to the levels not seen since the outbreak of the first Gulf War in 1990. Overall, according to the Oil Ministry, the authorities are planning "oil infrastructure projects worth $20 billion to boost production and exports... The projects include developing the Basra and Khor Al Amaya oil terminals." Currently, another refinery in central Iraq, capable of processing 200,000 barrels per day is in planning stages.
In transport news, direct flights are expected to start soon between Iraq and Syria. In addition, "[t]he minister of Transportation singed with his Syrian counterpart during his visit to Damascus an agreement memorandum of activating the joint cooperation in field of transportation by sea, air, land, and railways. The memorandum dictated to facilitate transport of imported goods to Iraqi lands through Syrian harbors, activating Iraqi Company for Naval Navigation, mutual work to implement development programs and exchange expertise and technical studies in scope of harbors, and considering buying a ship to invest in transporting goods." Meanwhile, the first Iraqi Airlines flight in 14 years has flown from Amman, Jordan to Baghdad. Several Turkish airlines are also eyeing the Iraqi market. And Malaysian Merchant Marine Berhad is planning to set up a joint venture company with Iraqi Oil Tankers Company to provide bunker fuel and other shipping services in Iraq and other Arab Gulf ports.
RECONSTRUCTION:
* The Iraqi authorities are making an effort to better organize and coordinate the reconstruction effort:
"The Iraqi Ministry of Planning has formed a supreme body to lay down reconstruction strategy for the war-torn country... The body would be responsible for laying down an international mechanism to finance the reconstruction projects and to help coordinate the efforts of the Iraqi side and the donor countries in the fields of loans and financing."
* In the south of the country, a reconstruction conference has already heard some detailed plans for the region's near future:
"Nearly 200 Iraqi and international construction contractors heard this week how reconstruction efforts in the country's southern region will soon quicken, providing a renewed infrastructure and additional jobs. The demands and opportunities that come from the planned massive surge in reconstructing the south served as the keynote of the region's first reconstruction forum at the Basra International Airport... "The more than 10 new medical clinics, 400 renovated schools and new police stations planned for the region are slated for construction before the end of the year; each is aimed at improving the aging infrastructure of southern Iraq and adding thousands of jobs across the region."
* Najaf, which has seen much trouble recently, is now on the receiving end of 12 billion dinars's worth ($8.2 million) of a World Bank grant towards urgent reconstruction works, in addition to 100 billion dinars ($68.5 million) recently allocated from the Ministry of Labor and Municipalities for emergency reconstruction.
* As physical reconstruction moves ahead, plans for social reconstruction are also being drawn:
"The Planning Ministry and Development Cooperation has discussed the strategy of social development to create suitable environment for comprehensive humanitarian development... Dr. Mehdi al-Hafdhi said that the reform plan includes putting limits for long-term social reform representing in realizing protection and social justice and participation through judicial mechanisms to eradicate poverty, make work chances available and realizing the social incorporation. 'The ministry's middle-term preparations took into consideration the role of the government through shifting to the market economy without neglecting its role in supplying requirements of security, health, primary education,' he confirmed."
* With more reconstruction projects, foreign donors come up with additional funds. The International International Monetary Fund has hinted at additional emergency financial aid for Iraq later on this year. "IMF experts have estimated that Iraq may be eligible for about 850 million dollars in reconstruction assistance." The talks are progressing well. And international donors have pledged over $2 billion for development of housing in Iraq at a recent conference in Tokyo. Omar al- Farouq al-Damlouchi the minister of housing and construction says the Ministry is planning to construct 2 million units over the next ten years and is currently researching housing needs around the nation.
* There is also some much needed relief on the way for Iraqi economy:
"The Paris Club of creditor nations has agreed in principle to a major reduction of Iraq's outstanding debt, with a final announcement expected before the end of this year... Officials from the Paris Club's 19 members, including the United States, France, Russia, Germany and Japan, met last week and agreed to cut Iraq's estimated 120 billion dollars (97.9 billion euros) of debt by at least 50 percent."
* In electricity news, "[t]Two electricity generators in suburban Baghdad that had fallen into disrepair under Saddam Hussein's regime returned to service today, producing enough electricity to fuel 72,000 Iraqi homes. Iraqi and U.S. engineers brought the seven-megawatt generator in southern Baghdad and the 17-megawatt generator in north Baghdad online this morning." Electricity production now averages 5,000 megawatts. 50 MW were recently added to the grid through efforts of Iraqi engineers at the Baiji power station.
* Electricity production is also increasing through the use of new technologies:
"Iraqi labourers have installed a new radiator on a generator air intake. It’s an installation that increases electricity output of the machine by more than 15 per cent by cooling the hot, dry desert air. The radiator, known as a chiller pack to the electrical savvy, came online Monday at the south central Iraq power plant, boosting electricity production from the generator to 24 megawatts, enough to service 72,000 Iraqi homes."
* The Electricity Ministry is aiming to increase the power production to 25,000 MW over the next five years. After years of neglect and violence, the electricity infrastructure in Iraq is in such state of disrepair that, according to the Ministry estimates, it might require somewhere between $30 and $50 billion to fully upgrade the grid to modern standards. Foreign governments are already assisting, with the United Arab Emirates agreeing to speed up its contribution of $215 million towards rebuilding Iraqi power system.
"Melted plastic tubing and heat warped glass vials will soon be a thing of the past for doctors and nurses at Ibn Sina Hospital, the busiest medical facility in Iraq and one of only three Level III trauma centres in the country. The reprieve comes courtesy of the first climate-controlled medical storage facility in Iraq, which opened Sunday only metres from the front door of the hospital. The new warehouse will provide an end to the destructive heat, with enough air-conditioned storage space to store tons of medical supplies to treat the county's most seriously wounded soldiers and civilians."
* And in order to improve public health throughout the capital, 217,700 billion dinars (nearly $150 million) has been allocated by the authorities for the construction of new sewage system throughout Baghdad. On a much smaller scale, progress is also being made in Basra: "New pipes buried deep in the walls and floors of the revamped Iraqi airport will soon feed the building with enough clean water for the nearly 4,000 Iraqi laborers that will staff the airport and the thousands of travelers that will soon re-fill the once teaming terminal.
"Providing clean water and a viable sewer system for the airport is the final step in a multi-million dollar effort to revive the airport and reopen commercial travel in the southern region. "A $1.3 million renovation project to revamp the water treatment plant is slated for completion by the end of October. The plant was operating at full capacity before the war, pulling millions of liters of water from the nearby river. However, it lacked maintenance and chemicals to render water suitable for human consumption."
* Many smaller reconstruction projects are underway at any given time; for example 2.47 billion dinars ($1.7 million) is being spent on clean-up and rehabilitation in Baaquba; construction of the new Zurbatia border crossing complex on the Kuwaiti border; or construction of new housing units in Baghdad and Kirkuk.
* There is also movement on the water front, with the Ministry of Water Resources allocating "134 billions Iraqi dinars [$92 million] for cleaning small streams and operating and maintaining the water canals." More dams also continue to be constructed throughout Iraq. And speaking of the environment, "[t]he United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has said it will help Iraq clean up the toxic pollution caused by a decade of conflict. Starting next month, Unep will assess pollution 'hotspots', ranging from oil spills to waste from military vehicles."
HUMANITARIAN AID:
* While the reconstruction effort aims to provide the longer term solutions to Iraq's many problems, a more immediate assistance to satisfy the most urgent needs of the population is still required. Some of the humanitarian assistance continues to be inspired by the army personnel serving in Iraq, like in this story from North Carolina:
"When Kings Mountain Middle School teacher David McDonald took leave to serve with the National Guard in Iraq, he never expected to end up helping children over there. But through a special bond with a former student, McDonald inspired a community service project that resulted in 1,400 pounds of school supplies being donated for Iraqi children. Five Kings Mountain churches participated in the drive, which is continuing this fall."
Another report notes an overwhelming response to Army Reserve Sgt. Patrick Dugan's call for toys for Iraqi kids. "The response was 'truly amazing,' said Dugan... 'I've received over 350 packages,' he said, so many that the military post office assigned him his own mail bin next to bins for the military units stationed in the city of Mosul.'The pile for me rivals the pile of entire battalions,' he said. Packages came from veterans groups, churches, law firms, Irish organizations, neighbors, families, seniors, children. [Says Dugan:] 'They put priceless smiles on thousands of children and their parents, and also contributed to many smiles and immeasurable joy on the part of us soldiers. The soldiers definitely enjoyed giving as much as the kids enjoyed receiving'."
* Other aid efforts are purely civilian-inspired, like this community action in California: "A group of Eureka High School students who love to play soccer want to share this enthusiasm for sports in a country where violence is now overshadowing such pastimes. They've so far collected 150 soccer balls to send to Iraq. 'We figured they don't get the same opportunities,' said Eureka High senior Kellie Siler. She said the soccer balls can be seen as a gift from American students, and may help give Iraqis a positive impression of the United States."
* And students from Charlotte Wood Middle School in Danville, California, have recently collected 500 pairs of flip-flop shoes for Iraqi children. "[Principal Sandy] Budde decided on the move after hearing of children walking barefoot on searing hot sand from her son, Marine Lt. Ben Budde, 23, who serves in Iraq with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division." Thanks to Wells Fargo officials who have donated $10,000 to cover the cost of mailing, the shoes will soon reach Iraq.
* Other humanitarian assistance comes from Iraq's neighbors. Kuwaiti Humanitarian Operations Center, for example, has provided almost $9 million dollars in aid to Fallujah between March and August this year and is currently undertaking studies of how to manage a $5 million grant for Najaf. And help comes from Bahrain, too:
"Ten cancer patients in Iraq could soon get urgent treatment, which is currently unavailable in their own country, thanks to an appeal in Bahrain. The patients, some of whom are children, have been diagnosed with life- threatening cancer and are now in desperate need of help. "The Bahrain Cancer Society (BCS), in association with Al Riwaq Gallery and the Bahrain Businesswomen's Society, has raised BD25,000 [$66,555] and is urging people to help support the patients with further donations."
COALITION TROOPS:
* Comments Col. Gary Bunch, The 51-year-old Colonial Heights resident commands the 172nd Corps Support Group from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma: "The people are very glad that the regime is gone and are so thankful for the chance to have a democratic country and a decent living... It's such a poor country for being so rich, nothing got down past the (former government)." Col Bunch says that "[m]edia reports about the state of post-war Iraq don't accurately portray a hopeful public, one who looked forward to elections in January, and the great work being done by American forces." In his words: "In the pictures we've seen it's just not the same as the work the soldiers are doing and the appreciation the Iraqi people have for it... It's happening all over and that's the real story."
* Some troops are helping to make Iraq a safer place: "The Davis Monthan Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team sought out and destroyed 40,000 munitions, and 55,000 pounds of enemy explosives north of Baghdad." There is plenty more of old ammunition and explosives around Iraq that need to be disposed of.
* Ten Army Reservists from Maine have, meanwhile, have volunteered to take part in training the new Iraqi army: "The Maine reservists are part of a larger group of Army trainers and drill sergeants with the U.S. Army's 98th Division, 2nd Battalion, 304th Regiment, which has members from Maine to New York, according to Liberty... The soldiers, whose work will involve conducting basic military training and serving as mentors and trainers for Iraq's future military, were given a sendoff at the Armed Forces Reserve Center."
* The troops also continue to be involved in the reconstruction effort. The 1st Infantry Division’s Engineers Electricity Ministry Team, for example, is currently overseeing the construction of a health care center for more than 4,000 employees and family members of employees of the Baiji Power Plant. The Team is also overseeing construction of a chemical warehouse to improve operational capacity at the thermal power plant.
* Elsewhere, $99,960 worth of work under the Multi-National Forces-Iraq school refurbishment project is nearing completion at the Ibn Al-Athir School. This elementary school in Baghdad, attended by 972, will consist of 48 rooms and 40,000 square feet upon completion.
* On a much bigger scale, "[t]he Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Fourteen (NMCB-14) are supplying engineering and quality control to a project awarded to a Turkish contractor who hires Iraqi workers using materials that come from Kuwait and Jordan, making this a truly multinational project. The project is a three-building berthing facility that consists of two 13,000-square-foot, steel-frame prefabricated buildings and the complete renovation of a 3,000-square-foot masonry building."
* American soldiers are also at work in this remote location in northern Iraq:
"Soldiers from the 133rd Engineer Battalion are working on a series of projects in the rural village of Hamzan in northern Iraq. The National Guard Soldiers from Belfast, Maine, replaced the village's small mud schoolhouse with a concrete structure. The new school has three classrooms with plumbing and electricity.
"As part of an initiative to train former Peshmerga fighters to learn construction skills, the engineers worked with nine former fighters to train them in masonry and carpentry skills during the construction of the school.
"In addition to rebuilding the village school, the engineers brought in a 20,000-liter water tank and a 75-kilowatt generator which will serve the 17 families in the area who do not have plumbing or electricity. They also improved the local roads which were in disrepair."
* The 478th Civil Affairs Battalion, meanwhile, continues its good work in Iraq: "The battalion has opened four health clinics, and each one can handle more than 60,000 people, he said. The battalion is working to get a $1.2 million maternity clinic approved and ready for residents. But it was a youth center that drew more enthusiastic responses and large crowds. The battalion revamped a security personnel building into a youth-friendly environment with video games and the Internet. The kids can go there, instead of congregating in the streets, [Spc. Erich] Scholz said. 'You won't believe how many kids are here,' he said."
* And around the town of Kalsu, [a]s the summer winds down, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Back-to-School Campaign is revving up, giving the Marines a vehicle to make a difference in the lives of Iraq's children, one classroom at a time."
* In the south of the country, Coalition partners are carrying their own reconstruction projects: "In the Multi-National Division Central South area of Babil Province, the Polish-led Civil Military Cooperation team (CIMIC) has completed a $258,000 renovation of Babylon University's 2,000-student law school in Al Hilla... During clashes in the province, almost all University of Babylon equipment, furniture and plumbing and electrical utilities were stolen or damaged, so the first part of the two-phase project focused on repairing the water, electrical wiring and cable systems for a cost of about $79,000. The second stage was completed in mid-September for a total of about $179,000. New furnishings and air conditioners were bought and installed, and a new fence was placed around the building. About 10,000 students attend the University of Babylon."
* And some in US forces are overseeing the growth of local democracy:
"If [Ahmed Mutlok]Oda seems unnecessarily timid, consider that no one in Wynot has ever voted before. Oda has no predecessor, no way to know if he's doing it right.
"After Oda, another 145 voters came through, representing almost every household in this tiny village about 15 miles outside of Tikrit. The Wynot City Council elections of Sept. 13 came after months of work and planning by soldiers of Company A, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.
"The strong turnout completed a turnaround in how Wynot residents view the U.S., according to the company commander, U.S. Army Capt. David Krzycki. 'This was probably the most anti-coalition town in sector when we first got here,' he said. 'Kids and adults were throwing rocks at us and calling us names. But we established a knock-and-talk program, where we'd go to six to eight houses per night. We'd ask people what they needed and what they thought of us. Eventually they realized we're here to make their way of life a little bit better'."
* In addition to security and reconstruction work, there is also a significant humanitarian aspect to the troops' presence, as this example demonstrates: "Sand and concrete get mighty hot on little toes in the desert. And soldiers in B Company of the 141st Engineer Combat Battalion of the North Dakota National Guard, who see Iraqi children walking barefoot along their routes every day, wanted to make life a little better for some of them." They are, by handing out shoes and sandals to Iraqi kids.
* Elsewhere, the residents of Tal Afar have recently received $8,500 worth of medical supplies: "In an effort to help these people, Soldiers from the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion Public Health Team and the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) Surgeon purchased medical supplies such as blood transfusion sets, intravenous fluids, needles, gauze and bandages which will be used to treat the civilian casualties that have resulted from terrorist activities in the area. Multi-National Forces also gave an extra $5,000 to the Ministry of Health to purchase anesthesia, medication and other medical supplies for the residents of Tal Afar."
* And read this story of Spc. Ed Martinez, of North Conway, New Hampshire: "He is one of the lowest ranking men in his unit, but one New Hampshire National Guardsman ranks high in the hearts of an Iraqi family." During his travels through southern Iraqi villages he noticed a 1-year old boy with club feet:
" 'I knew looking at this boy that it would be almost impossible for him to live any sort of normal life,' Martinez said. 'He would be condemned to a real minimal existence.' Martinez took a photo of Adjir Abdullah to the company surgeon. After working through a maze of red tape and going from one doctor to another, he and the surgeon found a pediatric orthopedist serving in the U.S. Army. 'We had to break a lot of rules,' Martinez said.
"Martinez then returned to the village to convince the boy's family to go ahead with surgery. 'They told us they don't trust Americans because we don't do what we say,' Martinez said.
"The boy's family eventually agreed to the surgery, and after a lengthy procedure to correct the Adjir's feet, his uncle confided in the soldiers and thanked them. 'He said, "Adjir would never have had a chance under the old regime. Now he has a chance,"' Martinez said. '"The old regime only cared about themselves".'"
SECURITY:
* While media attention remains focused on the so called "no go zones", where it is said that even the Coalition troops dare not venture, many of the past hot-spots seem to be becoming a lot safer and a lot less hot:
"A billboard bearing Saddam Hussein's blasted-away face still welcomes motorists to the city once honored - now stigmatized - as his hometown. But these days Tikritis show little of the ex-dictator's storied defiance of the U.S. military. "Tikrit was the epicenter of Iraq's Baath Party hierarchy and the al-Nassiri tribe that filled the party's upper ranks, making this city an important U.S. invasion target and a rebellious occupation conquest. But in the past few months, Tikrit has quietly slipped off the map of Iraq's trouble spots."
* The residents of another former hot-spot, Najaf, are becoming more vocal:
"Each day, hundreds of residents turn out to shout down rebel Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. They blame him for leaving Najaf in ruins and blame his henchmen for slaying as many as 300 people.
" 'Muqtada is garbage and his people are all crooks,' demonstrators chanted Friday. That's an extraordinary slur for a man who is the son of an assassinated spiritual leader and merits the honorific, Sayyed, as a descendant of the prophet Muhammad.
"This kind of outburst was unthinkable three weeks ago, when al-Sadr and his armed followers ruled Najaf and its holy shrine and led a nationwide insurgency against the U.S. occupation. He flouted centuries-old tradition to defy the key spiritual leaders of Iraq's Shi'ite majority. He drove them into seclusion and their followers into fearful silence.
"Now, the besieged have turned the tables, raising questions about how deep and broad al-Sadr's support actually is. Al-Sadr posters and pictures tacked up around the city streets and neighborhood shops have been torn down. The police, whom al-Sadr's fighters drove from their Najaf and neighboring Kufa compounds last spring, have now packed their jail cells with the cleric's followers."
* And normalcy returns to another locality in Iraq:
"A year and a half ago, Ari Askanda would have been risking death selling Western music and DVDs from his small shop on the main street of Biyara in Iraq's Kurdish zone. Now he even sells alcohol under the counter. "This remote mountain region near the Iranian border was a stronghold of Ansar al-Islam, a militant group linked to al Qaeda and Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant thought to be behind a wave of suicide attacks in Iraq."
* Not any more. In Baghdad, meanwhile, the locals are taking security with each other: "More than ten al Thawra clan chiefs met today with a city council member at the Baghdad City Council headquarters to discuss an agreement to cease hostilities in eastern Baghdad. No American or Multi-National Forces representatives were in attendance."
* The public support - and recruitment - for the police force remain at high levels, despite obvious dangers the job involves: "The applicants just keep coming for a job that may be the deadliest in Iraq, perhaps in the world. Since the war's end, 700 Iraqi police officers have died. This week alone, a car bombing outside Baghdad's central police station took 47 lives. It was followed hours later by an assault on a police van in a city north of Baghdad that left 11 policemen and their driver dead." But this seems to be having little impact on Iraqis:
"The motives of those willing to take Iraq's most dangerous jobs reflect not only a desire to feed their families, but a vision of a self-sufficient nation that doesn't rely on American troops for its security. "In the battle for Iraq, insurgents are targeting the new police - attempting to undermine support for the interim Iraqi government cooperating with the US. But Iraqis generally hold their own security forces in high esteem. Even though these forces are rebuilding, opinion polls show higher respect for and confidence in the new Iraqi forces than in the US-led forces."
* The professionalisation of Iraqi police force continues. Read this story of British Brigadier Andrew Mackay who is providing the Iraqi Ministry of Interior with assistance to rebuild and modernize the force:
"Trainers were brought in to help the rebuilding of the Iraqi police force, specialists in every field. They started from scratch, identifying officers that could be trusted to command the new units, establishing structures, setting up police academies and even building the classrooms.
"Seven months into the job, they are finally tackling the task that they hope will set them on course to a fully effective police force: getting rid of the dead wood. In a room on the tenth floor of the ministry of interior, men are clustered round lap-top computers and sophisticated fingerprint scanners...
"Each computer package cost $15,500 and they will have 400 of them, paid for out of a $13 million budget for this qualifying committee project alone. It is a drop in the ocean compared with the overall cost of the policing operation. Brigadier Mackay reckons he has spent $1.5 billion since he arrived, the largest police training mission ever undertaken."
* And: "Under the old regime, a police officer could commit a rape or a murder and walk back into his old job on his release from prison, according to Colonel Muhannad Amin from the internal affairs department, who is tasked with investigating police officers. Now they will be out." Which surely ranks as an improvement.
* The service - and the sacrifice - of Iraqi policemen is rewarded with generous benefits: the families of police officers who have died in the line of duty receive an one-off payment of 1 million dinars and continue to receive the equivalent of a policeman's salary until what would have been the deceased's 63rd birthday.
* Iraq's neighbors are also helping rebuild the police force: "Bahrain and Iraq signed an agreement for the Bahraini interior ministry to train Iraqi Civilian Defense recruits. The Gulf News Agency, GNA, said Bahrain would train 4,000 Iraqi civil defense members as part of efforts by the Bahraini and Iraqi governments to boost relations and serve mutual interests." And India, too, is offering to help retrain Iraqi police.
* NATO members, meanwhile, have reached a compromise to expand the mission to train Iraqi security forces personnel. The number of NATO personnel engaged in training is set to increase from 50 currently on the ground in Iraq, to around 300.
* The training and assistance seems to be bearing fruits on the ground. Some of the recent successes of Iraqi security forces include: the capture of four suspected senior al Qaeda operatives; freeing by the Iraqi police of seven hostages, including Turks, Iraqis and other Arabs; freeing by Iraqi security forces of another Jordanian hostage; the arrest of a kidnapping gang and interception on the road between Amara and Baghdad of a lorry-full of munitions and explosives; arrest of over 50 Afghans trying to infiltrate Iraq through Iran; and preventing a suicide bomb attack in western Baghdad. Iraq the Model blog also reports on some self-help by Iraqi passers-by who made a citizens arrest of six Syrian nationals responsible for a bomb explosion. Lastly, without any input from Iraqi security forces, a group of insurgents has accidentally blew themselves up while constructing an explosive device in the Wasit Province.
* In another positive security development, Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan has said that "Iran has reduced its interference in Iraq's domestic affairs and ended support of Shiite radical cleric Moqtada Sadr."
* Lastly, in another "swords into ploughshares" moments, 50% of buildings in Al-Towaitha Nuclear site have recently been transformed to civilian use.
The reconstruction and normalisation of Iraq is a slow and gradual process. The pace of change is not helped by the fact that Iraq, like many other recently liberated societies around the world, is suffering from a Post-Totalitarian Stress Disorder.
For the Westerners, it is a difficult condition to understand. We take so many things for granted - from comedians being able to joke about the President, to the assumption that the next government employee we encounter will not be expecting a bribe from us - that we are quite ill equipped to fully comprehend what life under a totalitarian system must really be like, much less what mental and spiritual legacy its victims have to labor under long after the statues of the Leader are pulled down.
Bad habits that people consciously or otherwise pick up to help them better fit in and survive under a dictatorship prove quite troublesome and counter-productive once the shackles finally fall off. Distrust of the authorities and fellow citizens, the hand-out mentality, lack of initiative and self-responsibility continue to linger among the Iraqi people. This - the damage done to individual psyche - and not just to the physical infrastructure and institutions of the country, is what we have to always keep in mind when assessing the progress of reconstruction and democratisation in places like Iraq. If things aren't moving ahead as fast as expected, if cooperation is lacking and trust hard to find, and if the population seems apathetic and disengaged, it's the fallen regime having its final chuckle from beyond the grave.
The task of reconstruction is not just about adding more megawatts to the power grid or renovating another school. Just as importantly - if not more so - it is about changing attitudes, habits and ways of thinking. In many ways liberating minds is a far more difficult task than rebuilding the physical infrastructure.
Here is a more concise but again not all inclusive list:
Women in Iraq
1. The Coalition is working to ensure that women play an important role in all parts of the government.
2. Three Iraqi women who are members of the new Governing Council are fully engaged in promoting the involvement of women in Iraq's future.
3. An esteemed former female Iraqi judge in the Ministry of Justice is undertaking a review of laws, legal practices, and the legal profession in Iraq for ways to increase equality and participation of women.
4. The Ministry of Interior conducted an assessment of the former Iraqi Police Force in early April. This resulted in a requirement to target recruitment of women and their inclusion in training offered at all academies. The program will become a reality August 15 when the recruiting drive begins with women as one of the groups targeted for selection.
5. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has adopted a policy of equal access to services and benefits for all those eligible, and this policy will ultimately expand services as well as quality to larger numbers of Iraqis including women.
6. Iraqi women will have a role in the development of democracy and civil society. A senior administration official from the CPA Democracy and Governance team is conducting outreach activities to involve Iraqi women.
7. The Coalition team has held numerous meetings with Iraqi women from all walks of life to hear their concerns and to listen to their ideas for the future development of democracy in their country. In addition, the CPA has met with various women's groups and with international organizations regarding their ideas and efforts to meet the needs of Iraqi women.
8. The Coalition helped a group of Iraqi women conduct a conference that included workshops on the constitution and democracy, legal reform, education, health and social affairs, and economic and employment issues. More than 70 women attended, the majority of whom were Iraqi women experts in such fields as law, academia, medicine, and business.
9. Quotas restricting the entry of women into certain university courses have been raised or lifted altogether.
10. Iraqi women's organizations are being created to expand opportunities for women to improve their lives and those of their families.
Security
1. New Iraqi army and police forces are being recruited, trained, and equipped. Some 1,200 Iraqis will be trained this year for the new Iraqi army, and in two years, 40,000 army recruits will be trained.
2. Fifty-eight of 89 Iraqi cities have hired police forces. In total, 34,000 Iraqis are employed in patrolling the streets of their country, and of these, 30,000 Iraqis are currently patrolling with coalition forces.
3. More than 8,200 tons of ammunition, thousands of AK-47s, grenades, and other weapons have been seized throughout Iraq -- much of which was stored by the Hussein regime in hospitals, schools, and mosques.
4. The CPA has hired more than 11,000 Iraqis to guard key facilities around the country.
5. Coalition forces, with information from an Iraqi, conducted operations that lead to the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein following their refusal to surrender. With the deaths of Uday and Qusay, more and more Iraqis were freed from their fear and are volunteering their services and information.
6. Coalition forces continue to take the offensive against the remnants of the Ba'athist regime who are targeting the sites and symbols of reconstruction and stabilization successes.
7. An Iraqi Civil Defense Force will help U.S. and Coalition forces in rooting out Saddam loyalists and criminal gangs who have been attacking military forces and obstructing reconstruction efforts. Four thousand Iraqi militiamen will be trained by U.S. troops.
8. In Basra, 500 river police have been patrolling since June 19.
9. Some 148,000 U.S. service members and more than 13,000 Coalition troops from 19 countries are serving in Iraq.
10. Most of Iraq is calm and progress on the road to democracy and freedom not experienced in decades continues. Only in isolated areas are there still attacks.
Economically
1. A New Economy: A new Iraqi economy is being built on the principles of market economics, respect for the rule of law, and transparency.
2. Salaries: The CPA regularly pays salaries to those teachers, healthcare workers, soldiers, police, and other public sector employees who have returned to work. Payments of pensions and other emergency payments have also helped to avert a humanitarian crisis. Teachers' salaries, and other key employees' salaries, have increased four-fold over their pay under Saddam Hussein. Some 39,000 electrical workers are back at work. Other sectors show similar encouraging signs.
3. Commerce: The marketplace in Baghdad has many goods that were previously unavailable because of sanctions or because they were forbidden under the previous regime. Items such as satellite dishes are now readily available to Iraqis.
4. Banks: Banks are open in Baghdad. The CPA is working with Iraqis outside of Baghdad to open banks across the country as soon as possible. In addition, international interest in establishing an Iraqi trade bank has been strong, and proposals from foreign banks are under review for creating this trade facility.
5. Food: The CPA has purchased the upcoming wheat and barley crops, helping to meet the country's food needs while supporting farmers. These crops include over 600,000 metric tons of Iraqi wheat and more than 300,000 metric tons of Iraqi barley.
6. Loans for Entrepreneurs: A micro-credit facility is now being set up in the South. Credit facilities for the rest of the country are also planned. Iraq's two major banks will start making small and medium sized business loans to help Iraqi entrepreneurs restart their businesses.
7. Currency: A unified currency for Iraq has been announced. The exchange of old banknotes for new ones is set to begin October 15.
8. Iraqis' Savings: The dinar has maintained its value against the dollar, preserving the dinar-dominated savings of Iraqi citizens.
9. Natural Resources: Oil production is increasing, with daily production of crude averaging 1 million barrels in recent days.
10. Budget: The budget for the last six months of 2003 is now being executed, and the 2004 budget formulation process has begun.
Afghanistan
First the Taliban did not make itself a Islamic state until 1996. And if you think we were better off supporting the Russian communists that doens't make a whole lot of sense unless of course you are a communist.
Here is a little bit about what life was like under the Taliban.
Life Under the Sharia
To emphasize the change in government, in 1996 the Taliban changed the name of the country to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The nation would be governed by mullahs and religious scholars rather than politicians. And the new government would be, noted Taliban officials proudly, the only one of its kind anywhere on the planet.
Mullah Mohammad Omar was the supreme head of the government. His edicts were automatically law—there was no legislature to vote on policies. Omar did preside over a ten member council, called the Supreme Shura, which he could consult on particular issues facing the nation.
Of course, thousands of Taliban were needed to make the new government work— from regional and local governors and judges to soldiers, police, and checkpoint officers. Roughly thirty-five thousand Taliban—most from Afghanistan but many from Pakistan and other Muslim nations—were responsible for running the country.
The guiding principle was called the sharia—an old-time, rigid form of Islamic law.
Soon after Taliban soldiers marched into a village or city, they made it very clear that everyone was expected to follow new rules. There was to be no television or music.
One of the key factors in maintaining the rules dictated by Omar and his council was the Ministry of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
Some of the most arbitrary laws created by the Taliban prohibited music, dance, and other aspects of Afghan culture. Listening to music was illegal.
Not only were people forbidden to listen to music, but the Taliban also decreed that both singing and playing an instrument were illegal as well.
The Taliban government outlawed many other forms of entertainment. including television and radio.
The arrival of the Taliban also meant dramatic changes in the relationship of the sexes. No longer was it permissible for a boy and a girl to date.
Beatings and imprisonment by the Taliban's police were common punishments for what the government considered minor offenses— kite flying, listening to music.....
According to their interpretation of ancient sharia, Taliban judges (usually mullahs) would order perpetrators of more serious crimes, such as murder, to be killed in the public square.
One such stoning took place in Kandahar in the summer of 1996. The Taliban had learned that a woman and a man had engaged in a sexual relationship without marriage.
One of the rules that the Taliban enforced was the banning of any artwork or photography that showed the faces of living things.
They also banned cultural holidays like Nowroz (New Years).
The oppressive regime banned women from working from schools, from public life, even from leaving their homes without a male relative. Female faces were outlawed as the burka, or head-to-toe veil, became mandatory.
Now compare that with Afghanistan now:
1. 10 million Afghans registered to vote
2. Five million children vaccinated
3. 3.7 million refugees returned home
4. private construction is booming
5. Replaced old Afghan currency with new Afghani notes worth 1,000 more
6. Upgraded finance ministry accounting systems
7. Hundreds of new private building are going up
industrial parks planned and built
8. Supplied improved seed varieties and fertilizer boosting crop production by 80 percent
9. Dredged canals and rebuilt irrigation systems
10.Reconstructed hundreds of miles of roads including the Ring road (a major artery) and tunnel this lowered the price of commodities making them more affordable
11. As far as your poppy seed question there are progams in place now for farmers to grow an alternate crop to replace poppy
I got this stuff from a variety of sources, but one very good source is http://chrenkoff.blogspot.com/2005/05/good-news-from-afghanistan-part-12.html
Would you like to hear more??
Comment by Elmers Bro— 2005/07/04 @ 09:28 AM — (Reply)
This was after just one year!
From Chrenkoff
Iraq one year on
As promised yesterday, a few words about what is really happening in Iraq. It has been over a year now since the war began (but not quite yet one year since President Bush declared the end of major combat operations on May 1, 2003), but the footage reaching us on the news shows mostly the bloody aftermaths of terrorist bombings (suicide or otherwise), burnt-out vehicles on the side of the road, and wary American soldiers patrolling the streets with their fingers on the triggers. When it comes to the locals, more often than not, the media’s attention is focussed either on the sullen and silent, or the defiant Baathist left-overs jumping for joy every time a bomb goes up. It’s enough to make you think the whole enterprise is a gigantic failure and a costly waste of blood and money. Which is exactly what virtually everyone on the left, many in the media, and a small but vocal (and violent) minority inside the Iraq want you to believe.
To get the good news out of Iraq you have to ferret around the net a bit. But it’s all there, crying out for attention. I won’t bore you with a litany of good news, but here’s just a selection of interesting facts about the new Iraq that you might have missed if you are relying on the major networks and newspapers for your news:
- Iraq has got the freest economy in the Middle East, if not one of the freest in the world. There are hardly any laws and regulations in place, and what there is gets hardly enforced. There are no tariffs or duties, no restrictions on investment, and everyone pays a flat rate of tax set at 15%. A lot of the framework and infrastructure of the economy is still missing (for example a reliable banking system), but it’s a damned good start in the region that has always been such a socialist basket case.
- The recently adopted interim constitution is the most liberal in the Arab world: it guarantees and protects individual religious freedom, protects minorities, enshrines federalism, and sets the principles of democracy and the Bill or Rights as the ultimate constitutional bedrock. Unlike their Arab brethren elsewhere, the Iraqis have enjoy constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech, assembly, travel and privacy.
- Over 200,000 Iraqis already serve in security forces; health spending is 30 times higher than before the war; teachers now earn 12 to 25 times what they used to, and doctors at least 8 times – finally the right priorities in a country that for far too long had suffered from too many presidential palaces.
- Satellite dishes and mobile phones are now legal and all the rage in Iraq. At least half a million of used cars have been imported from neighbouring countries. The economy is expected to grow at between 7 and 9% per year for the next decade.
Comment by Elmers Bro— 2005/07/04 @ 09:42 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Bro— 2005/07/04 @ 11:41 AM — (Reply)
Comment by elmers bro— 2005/07/14 @ 07:12 PM — (Reply)