Tragedies in Iraq– open thread

I have been appropriately chided that while I’ve been focusing on Lebanon (and Uganda) I haven’t been writing enough about Iraq.
The multiple tragedies there have been well covered, of course, by Juan Cole and by the group over at Today in Iraq. In particular, Matt’s lengthy post at TII yesterday provided an excellent– and extremely depressing– roundup.
One excellent point that Matt makes repeatedly throughout that post that having (or even more so, claiming to have) “good intentions” in any given situation simply is not enough. One needs always to be attentive to the actual effects and results of one’s actions, as well. (This is an argument I’ve also been making, in a different context, regarding the ICC’s prosecutions in Uganda.)
Anyway, given that I’m still deeply inside the writing of my Boston Review article on the 33-day war in Lebanon– and I also have about three other urgent deadlines to meet– it’s clear I can’t promise to post anything particularly substantial here about Iraq for another week or so…
So I’ll leave this thread open for you commenters to engage in your usual courteous and constructive discussion on Iraq here.

8 thoughts on “Tragedies in Iraq– open thread”

  1. To all who argue of legality of Iraq war, please read this report done by the US law specialist Brett H. McGurk (PDF file)
    He said in the end of his report:

    In sum, to those who say international law does not exist, or who say the occupation of Iraq was somehow extra-legal, I invite them to scrutinize the legal work of my former office, where international law was lived, breathed, and debated, with real world consequences, twenty-four hours a day. Attorneys in Baghdad worked within a complicated web of international authorities, and were among the first to gain practical experience operating within the framework of traditional occupation law – a framework that had existed largely as a debating point, never voluntarily implemented by an occupying authority.

  2. BUSH said
    “America’s enemies include radical Sunnis who pledge allegiance to al-Qaida and militant Shiias who join groups like Hezbollah and take guidance from state sponsors like Syria and Iran. Yet, despite their differences, Bush said, they all subscribe to the same ideology that free societies are a threat to their “twisted view of Islam.”
    http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/08/31/ap2986672.html
    H’mm, “militant Shiias” who bring them to the ground in Iraq? Guess who?
    There is no more Zarqawi its looks “al-Qaida” died by killing “Zarqawi” so no more ORANG suits and western hostages!!, no beheadings!! No journalists kidnapped in Baghdad? All it’s gone by “Zarqawi” death what a marvellous job!!!!!

  3. US Military offers $20 million reward to anyone who can find Good News about its mission in Iraq:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/AR2006083003011.html
    I guess the Free Market is working here, eh? The law of supply and demand is determining the price of news:
    Bad News – free
    Good News – $20 million
    Are there any war supporters left around here? WarrenW, where are you? They are only looking for “a team of 12 to 18 people” to help the top brass get those good news stories out. That’s $1.11 – $1.67 million APIECE!! Go for it guys!!

  4. Mark Tessler and Mansoor Moaddel recently released some of the data from their latest survey of Iraqi public opinion. As reported in US News, this survey revealed that
    The growing sense of insecurity affected all three of Iraq’s major ethnic and religious groups. The number of Iraqis who “strongly agreed” that life is “unpredictable and dangerous” jumped from 41% to 48% of Shiites, from 67% to 79% of Sunnis, and from 16% to 50% of Kurds. The most recent survey, done in April this year, also asked for “the three main reasons for the U.S. invasion of Iraq.” Less than 2% chose “to bring democracy to Iraq” as their first choice. The list was topped by “to control Iraqi oil” (76%), followed by “to build military bases” (41%) and “to help Israel” (32%).
    The survey also asked a direct question about the presence of American troops in Iraq (which for some reason was not included either in Kaplan’s story or in the University of Michigan press release). Tessler kindly provided me with a short write-up of the data, forthcoming in the TAARI Newsletter. Here is Table 3, responses to the question “Do you support or oppose the presence of coalition forces in Iraq?”
    http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?Releases/2006/Jun06/r061406a
    http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biz/interstitials/int.php?title=Nation%20%26%20World%3A%20Iraqi%20public%20opinion%3A%20bad%20news%20and%20good&pageURL=http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060817/17iraq.htm
    “The bottom line: 91.7% of Iraqis oppose the presence of coalition troops in the country, up from 74.4% in 2004. 84.5% are “strongly opposed”. Among Sunnis, opposition to the US presence went from 94.5% to 97.9% (97.2% “strongly opposed”). Among Shia, opposition to the US presence went from 81.2% to 94.6%, with “strongly opposed” going from 63.5% to 89.7%. Even among the Kurds, opposition went from 19.6% to 63.3%. In other words, it isn’t just that Iraqis oppose the American presence – it’s that their feelings are intense: only 7.2% “somewhat oppose” and 4.7% “somewhat support.”
    Maybe there are reasons for keeping American troops in Iraq, but “it’s what the Iraqi people want” really doesn’t seem to be one of them. ”

  6. This Free Market stuff is just amazing, I tell you. Look how the Afghan economy has taken off since we liberated that country:
    -agricultural production is up 50%
    -land under cultivation is up 59%
    -Afghanistan now produces 92% of the total world supply of its primary agricultural product
    These figures would be the envy of any American CEO!!
    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/world/asia/03afghan.html?hp&ex=1157256000&en=e4c4803388ba1e0d&ei=5094&partner=homepage

  7. Thanks so much, Salah and John C., for all these links and info. The poll data from Iraq is particularly valuable!
    (But JC, you should put some kind of irony alert onto your commentary there– or maybe, ask “what have these people been stuffing into their pipes?”… )

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