Last Saturday, on the anniversary of W's declaration of the "end to major combat operations in Iraq," W described his version of the present state of the nation of Iraq. The core of the good news was that "daily life is improving. Electricity is now more widely available than before the war. Iraq has a stable currency and banks are thriving. Schools and clinics have been renovated and reopened, and power plants, hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, and bridges are being rehabilitated. Iraq's oil infrastructure is being rebuilt, with the Iraqi oil industry already producing about 2.5 million barrels per day." It is interesting that what is in process, he suggests is done. It's like a contractor, after having knocked down my old house has poured a rough concrete pad, and framed up a wall and then declaring that the house is quite livable and comfortable. I should be happy that so much as been done. He may even crow about the future possibility of even more framing sometime soon. Perhaps, if I behave myself, I may even get some say on wha the final structure may be some years down the road. Take a look at the text itself:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/05/print/20040501.html

The Democrats traditionally respond to the President's weekly radio address. Paul Rieckhoff, a soldier who has recently returned from 10 months in Iraq paints a very different perspective. Not only have the Iraqi people suffered due to lack of infrastructure and commodities for everyday life, so has our military. Things are not great in Babylon but rather a crisis that is only getting worse. Take a look at
Rieckhoff's response:
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,118735,00.html

For most of the past year, W justified his war in Iraq with the contention that WMD were a threat to the U.S. None have been found, of course. So, the justification now is that we are bringing freedom and democracy to the people of Iraq. A basic tenent of American polical theory has been that a free press is essential for democracy to function (hence the First Amendment).

It is interesting to me that in Iraq, the country supposedly benefitting so much from our imposition of democracy, has little freedom to exercise that basic element of free speech. I'm confused, but apparently, so is the leadership of our nation.

When the Iraqis started printing a newspaper in Fallujah that was antagonisitic to the U.S. occupation we shut it down and ignited the most concentrated resistence since the invasion. Be free, we say, but do only what we say you may do. (In Wspeak, subjugation is freedom, just as war is peace.)

More evidence of our heavy-handed control over the media. Take a look:

http://www.indexonline.org/

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=3758