Inside Iraq

To follow the headlines would be to believe Iraq is a mess and a quagmire on the verge of collapse.

But here's some reporting, in the form of photojournalism so you can see for yourself, that such claims are greatly exaggerated, and that the terror campaign, though unprecedented in size and scope (compared with what Israel has had to endure, for example), is destined to fail.

Because Iraq is a very big place, and the nihilistic random mass murder of the terrorists can only succeed if we choose -- of our own volition -- to abaondon the project.

That is all they can hope for. In this, unfortunately, they are aided by the media's glee in reporting every tragedy and mishap, and ignoring all of the good news. Wouldn't want to give free propaganda to the Bushies, now, would we?

Free propaganda to Al-Qaeda, however, is just peachy.

Part of the reason the random murders continue is becasue the terrorists can still cling to the belief that if they just do it enough, the continued drumbeat of negative reporting will harm us politically. Thus, the media's cooperation effectively encourages them to continue to kill.

That makes the MSM's behavior deeply immoral in my book. Because the effect their "reporting" has is to aid the morale of the murderers, in spite of the high-minded motives of "free speech" behind it.

Here is the tale of Dohuk, a town in northern Iraq. The link goes to the site of an author and photojournalist, and the pictures there must be seen for the full effect.

The Kurds here are now free of the oppression for decades under the evil Hussein regime. They are thriving:

Approaching Dohuk, a short drive north of Mosul, brings to mind the countryside in Italy. The war is over in Dohuk. After suffering perhaps a half century of fighting, the people have finally gotten the peace they wanted long ago. With the old Iraqi government vanquished, Dohuk is thriving. In fact, this Iraqi city appears to be doing at least as well as--perhaps remarkably better than--many comparably-sized towns in Italy. A visit to this place affords more than a break from the rugged routine of war; it also provides a postcard of a possible future for all of Iraq.

It really looks like a nice place.

Coalition military presence in the region is scant, and those who travel here come mainly for shopping, or to relax and drink tea with friendly Iraqis, who often will not allow Americans to pay. Despite there being a few too many "thank yous," the people know when they are intruding and have the manners to smile and quietly go about their way.
...
Once in Dohuk, American soldiers removed helmets and body armor, and carried only their weapons. The commander set them free, with orders to return later that day. I walked with some soldiers to a department store where we passed by the kiddie rides outside. The storefront may well have been in Colorado Springs, or Munich. There were big push-carts for the adults, and little carts for the children.

Peaceful. And the stores are packed with goods to buy.

I walked into a store called Zanest Computer & Electronics, at 14th Anthar Street, and there I sat with Mr. Abdul Shukry, and asked him about business. Mr. Shukry said business is good, and that the US Army had come a few days earlier and purchased sixty computers and sixty UPS's and gave them all to Dohuk University.

"That's great," I said, "but how are sales if you do not include the Army business?"
"Still is good," he said, "Since the war has ended, all is good."
"Are the people happy?" I asked.
Mr. Shukry paused for a moment, as if it were the simplest question he'd been asked in months, "Of course they are happy," he said.
"Are you Muslim?" I asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Sunni, yes?"
"Yes, Sunni. Most Kurds are Sunni."
"Many people think the Sunnis all make war."
"Not us. We are Kurds."

Check out the rest of the story! You won't get this from the MSM.