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A must-read editorial in the WaPo:

I've had the opportunity to travel to Iraq three times, most recently last month, courtesy of the nonpartisan Business Executives for National Security. On every trip I'm struck by the difference between the Iraq I hear and read about back home and the Iraq I see in person. Iraq defies expectations and easy definition.

For me as a business executive, these visits provide a firsthand look at the largest U.S. reconstruction effort since the Marshall Plan. As the father of a Marine who recently returned from a tour in Iraq, I find that these trips also offer a glimpse of our frontline troops that few military families ever see. Among my general impressions:

First, U.S. forces in Iraq remain focused on their mission. Talking with soldiers and Marines over dinner in their mess halls, it's easy to see why reenlistment rates among U.S. troops in Iraq are the highest in the military. These men and women understand their mission and believe they are making a difference. Like my son, Joe III, after he returned from a tough mission in Fallujah, the Marines I met said they would be happy to return to Iraq because they believe what they're doing is important.

Second, every Iraqi knows that the battle for their country will be won or lost by Iraqis, not Americans. Fears of an all-out civil war were palpable during my visit. The day before I arrived, attacks on crowded markets in Baghdad's Sadr City killed dozens of Shiites. Dozens of bodies, mostly of blindfolded, bound and executed Sunnis, have turned up in the streets. But despite the ensuing violence, U.S. and Iraqi military leaders called the bombing of the Shiite Golden Mosque in Samarra a defining moment for the fledgling Iraqi army. In the Abu Ghraib region outside Baghdad, a Shiite commander claimed that "sectarian divisions are exaggerated" and said that local Sunnis are more supportive since his largely Shiite troops prevented further violence after the mosque bombing.

Read the rest; it's tempting to excerpt the whole thing. This focus contrasts a bit with the WaPo's front page fare:

In Iraqi Town, Trainees Are Also Suspects
U.S. Troops Wary After Incidents Suggest Betrayal

I certainly wouldn't minimize the veracity of the second link, but it is one incessantly magnified piece of a much, much more complex narrative.

Posted by Bill at April 29, 2006 02:41 PM | TrackBack (0)

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Posted by: airtravel at October 15, 2006 02:42 PM