A painting of the Iraqi flag, riddled with bullet holes in Baghdad's

Sadr City.

 

 

Azzaman, Iraq

Dear Pentagon, Is This What You Call 'Security?'

 

"Today there are ongoing military operations in most of Iraq's provinces, and worryingly, those will be followed with more as long as security forces are used to address any and all of Iraq's problems."

 

By Fateh Abdulsalam

                                    

 

Translated By Nicolas Dagher

 

August 1, 2008

 

Iraq - Azzaman - Original Article (Arabic)

A man gets stitched up at a hospital in in the northern city of Kirkuk, after an attack by a suicide bomber killed over 20 people and wounded 150, July 28. While fewer Americans are being killed, Iraqis continue to live in a very precarious security situation.

 

BBC NEWS VIDEO: Trash collector in Baghdad's Sadr City tells of life after the 'surge,' August 1, 00:01:47. RealVideo

Let us diagnose the Iraqi situation by the criteria that the Pentagon uses to measure improvements in security: according to statistics published by the Pentagon itself, only eleven U.S. soldiers were killed in July, the lowest number of Americans casualties since the war began.

 

It's true to say that this is how the U.S. measures progress. But although the Americans in Iraq consider themselves the main indicator of the flow of events, this statistic can't be considered a way of measuring improving health for the whole of the country.

 

Today there are ongoing military operations in most of Iraq's provinces, and worryingly, those will be followed with more as long as security forces are used to address any and all of Iraq's problems.

 

What guarantees of security do Iraqi citizens have? Can citizens trust government agencies more than they fear armed factions from across the border or which are spawned within our borders?

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

No one in Iraq's cantons of power studies the trends in public life for the next six months, to say nothing of the next year, five years or thirty years, the way authorities in the West do. After all, how could such a study and review take place in the shadow of political wrangling and the absence of responsibility on the part of the governing parties, where bickering over minor issues is the rule? No one cares about the national interest except in the context of "remedial" measures taken after American troops are forced to intervene and protect themselves. Iraqis must have avenues of action other than security, which provide all citizens with common frames of reference and ensure national unity beyond the momentary patriotism that emerges when a new government is formed, an existing government is reshuffled or meetings with ministers are held.

 

First we had the Baghdad Plan, which was followed by the Awakening [Councils] and the surge in U.S. forces, then the arousal of the Iraqi government to act against private militias who were killing people based on religious affiliation (just imagine if the Americans - who were being injured by this - didn't press the government to put an end to these death squads).

 

And now there are forces of oppression reinforcing the cement walls that separate people in the city of Baghdad. I ask you, Pentagon, is this how you measure the improvement of Iraq's security situation?

 

The scorching days of August have just begun.

 

CLICK HERE FOR ARABIC VERSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US August 4, 10:47pm]