There is good news from Iraq

Best news I've heard in quite a while!

Thanks for posting that!

 

Iraq: After the bombs, the tomatoes

ARAB JUBUR, Iraq (AFP) — Three months after US forces dropped tonnes of bombs on Arab Jubur and put Al-Qaeda to flight, farmers are everywhere out in their fields tending their tomatoes.

Homes in the Sunni Arab rural patch about 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of Baghdad, meanwhile, are being rebuilt, schools reopened, roads repaired and irrigation pumps renewed, even as shopkeepers happily dust off their shelves.

"It's the first time in three years I am able to work in my lands," said Ammar Wadi, a 30-year-old vegetable farmer who also runs a small dairy herd.

His lands, on the banks of the Tigris, are thriving. Besides tomatoes, he also grows ochre and wheat, while some of his 30 acres is devoted to pastures.

"When Al-Qaeda was here it was impossible to farm," said the jolly-faced farmer from under an orange cap while taking time out from his labours to visit his cousin's newly-reopened grocery store on a dusty rural road.
"They cut the power so we couldn't pump water," said Wadi. "We couldn't buy fuel. They would shoot at anyone they saw in the fields. They kidnapped and murdered many people. They destroyed life here."

"Al-Qaeda are the worst criminals on earth," he said standing before large posters of his slain relatives displayed among others killed by Al-Qaeda at a memorial set up at the local community centre.

"I hope they never come back. We now just want to farm in peace." he said.

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Good news in Iraq is bad news for the Democrats. The media will either smother the story or put a different spin on it.

 

Good news!

 

Aahhhh.....words the libs don't want to hear.

 

I feel sad over the hardships the Iraqi people have had to endure, with an oppressive government, destruction of and rebuilding civil rule, and the civil war or unrest which has been part of their recent experience. It is my understanding that many Christians and Jews, along with muslim Iraqis, have either been killed in the conflict or have had to flee from the country to save their lives. I find reason to pray for our soldiers and also those in the countries which we occupy.

This news is encouraging for thankfulness and continued knee work.

 

You are correct. It is sad what the people of Iraq have gone through.

While the news about Al-Quaida is good I fear that many are forgetting the seemingly eternal problem Iraq has had, now has and will have in the future and that is the hatred and violence between the Sunni, the Shia and the Kurds. I see no solution to this problem and so I am not very optimistic that the welfare of the people will improve very much, if at all. If the history of Iraq teaches us anything it is that there is little likelihood of a real peace here unless another very strong dictator takes over ... and that is always bad as such a person brings no peace.

 

The welfare of the Iraqi people has already improved greatly and continues to do so.

 

Would you elaborate on this and tell me about this? I would be very happy if you can show me that improvements you mentioned are real.

Here is information I have found on living in Iraq:

Click the link below for an interesting pool taken by BBC in 2007:
http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cacheQvrKrNF_1YJ:news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6451841.stm+iraq+living+conditionsm+2007&hl=cs&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=cz

 

Recent surge-fortified operations against insurgents have brought about security gains that 'could open up new doors to Iraq to improve the essential services, and, also to start the reconstruction so that we can invite the foreign international companies to come and invest inside Iraq,' Sheikhly explained.

The Joint Reconstruction Operations Center's formation, he continued, created a unity of effort among Iraqi government, coalition and other organizations in achieving infrastructure improvements in Baghdad.

Rebuilding Baghdad's water distribution system and sewage network are the thorniest issues confronting the center, Sheikhly acknowledged. Maintenance of Baghdad's infrastructure, he said, wasn't a priority of Saddam Hussein's regime.

'The sewage system in Baghdad has not been rehabilitated for over 30 years,'

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"Civilian causalities are down by about 75 % and coalition casualties are down by 80 percent. So what's happening now is the conversation is changed…I meet with the locals and the conversation's no longer about security. The conversation's all about jobs; it's all about services; it's all about a sustainable, economic development."


"We have about 26 million Iraqis, and on any given day maybe 10,000 insurgents, but the rest…want to be able to send their kids to school. As soon as we're out there and we establish the patrol base, high on our list of things to fix are the schools, because you've got to get the kids back into school. It makes the parents comfortable; it makes the kids comfortable. The teachers were not employed because of the conditions at school or the security situation. And now that we've worked through all that, the teachers are back to work and the kids are back in school."

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Fear and intimidation have been the marks of this city for a long time… People feel new freedoms and compare it to the fall of the regime in 2003 when the coalition forces kicked Saddam out of power. Now they can speak freely, they can go to the market at night. Especially women, who were staying home to avoid being killed or kidnapped.

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"I hope the Americans stay here for a long, long time," he said.

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Residents expressed relief at the improved security.
"I am very happy about the situation right now. The deployment of the Iraqi army has made gunmen and gangsters disappear from the streets," said court employee Mahdi Fallah, 42.

"The gangs were controlling the ports and smuggling oil. Now the ports are back in government hands. Everything in Basra is better than before."

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And of course, no one could argue that life hasn't improved for the Kurds or Marsh Arabs.

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BAGHDAD - The number of daily attacks in Mosul has dropped at least 85 percent since U.S.-Iraqi forces began an offensive against Sunni insurgents in the city earlier this month, the top U.S. commander in northern Iraq said Wednesday.

More Here


The top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, says he expects to be able to recommend cuts in US forces before he leaves his post in September.

More Here

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s National Symphony Orchestra held a rare concert this week, performing an eclectic mix of Iraqi and classical music.

Here