Iraq: The News You Haven't Read
posted: 7:40 AM, August 16, 2007 by Harkavy
http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/bushbeat/archive/2007/08/iraq_the_mustre.php The most devastating appraisal yet of the war of terror in Iraq passed unnoticed last week in the U.S. press.
The dedicated journalists of the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) — some of whom have been killed(
http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=336147&apc_state=henh) or imprisoned in psychiatric hospitals(
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/08/0dcf5dcd-4c37-4afd-aad3-3ff8608b0e98.html) for simply doing their jobs in hots spots around the globe — published "Special Report: Security in Iraq,"
http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=337683&apc_state=henpicr) an explosive cluster of stories.
<<snip>>
A headline from the introduction to IWPR's August 7 package sums drives home the point that Iraq is in even worse shape than we thought:
A series of reports by IWPR journalists in six key regions show the rule of law ranges from being woefully inadequate to effectively non-existent.That would be bloody funny if it weren't so bloody true.
<<snip>>
More relevant is the devastating summary of mad Iraq by IWPR's real reporters Christoph Reuter and Susanne Fischer.
http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=337683&apc_state=henpicr ------------------------------------------------------------------------
A series of reports by IWPR journalists in six key regions show the rule of law ranges from being woefully inadequate to effectively non-existant. Iraqi Governance Report is also available in pdf
By Christoph Reuter and Susanne Fischer
http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=337683&apc_state=henpicrDespite the recent substantial reinforcement of British and American forces in Basra and central Iraq respectively, security in the country only temporarily improved, and the gruesome daily litany of suicide bombings, mortar attacks, targeted killings and ethnic cleansing continues.
In July, at least 1,759 Iraqis were reported killed, a more than seven per cent increase over the 1,640 who are said to have died in June, according to estimates by the Associated Press.
Among the dead were civilians, government officials and members of the Iraqi security forces. The figures are considered only a minimum, and the actual number is thought to be higher with many killings going unreported.
Coalition forces are barely able to prevent the emergence of autonomous zones openly controlled by militias. The ongoing sectarian violence has created an extremely threatening climate. People feel they may be kidnapped or killed at any moment.
<<snip>>
A full-scale civil war looms. For the time being, United States forces are too strong to let this happen, yet they are too weak to prevent the daily killings. Or as a former member of the US administration in Baghdad put it, “We can only slow down the escalation. But we cannot prevent it, nor can we bring peace.”
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
