The Truth Can Not Be Suppressed

FOX News, that bastion of right-wingism (a currently still kicking CNN's ass), is broadcasting a special report about Iraq that looks at what really is happening in the war:

He reports that Haifa Street in Baghdad, nicknamed “Purple Heart Blvd.” a year ago because attacks against American and Iraqi forces were happening almost once a day, has experienced zero attacks in the last ten months — largely because Iraqi forces have taken over securing the area. Jonathan Foreman reported on the same phenomenon in this month’s Vanity Fair, and explained why the Iraqi forces have made the difference. “The previous week,” Foreman wrote, “[Iraqi National Guard] soldiers caught an insurgent when one of the [privates] overheard him speaking with a Syrian accent.” Reporting like this echoes similar — and similarly ignored — indications that Route Irish (the road to the Baghdad airport), which was once the most dangerous route in Iraq, has seen a dramatic reduction in violent attacks. As with Haifa Street, Iraqi troops made all the difference.

Palkot also takes us to the Iraqi stock exchange, where state-owned enterprises that have been privatized are now traded vigorously on the frenetic market floor. Palkot’s report doesn’t paint an overly rosy picture of the Iraqi economy. The violence has taken its toll, and unemployment is still at 27 percent. But economy is growing. Palkot cites Brookings Institution findings that the standard of living in Iraq has doubled since 2003, and the Iraqi economy is projected to grow by 16.8 percent next year. The post-Saddam dinar has held its value better than the U.S. dollar.

It's about friggin' time. There are good things to note every single day, I'm sure. Is it the eden that Michael Moore portrayed prior to the war? No, but then Iraq pre-war was not as serene as the worlds foremost mockumentarian portrayed it with Saddam's regime using torture and murder as weapons.

But if you look at the strides taken since 2003, a new Iraqi society is emerging that will be a beacon in the mideast showing what cooperation and democracy can establish.