Far from media focus: steady democratic progress in Iraq

The Christian Science Monitor ^ | June 07, 2005 | A. Heather Coyne

[Skylab]

Far from media focus: steady democratic progress in Iraq

By A. Heather Coyne

from the June 07, 2005 edition

BAGHDAD – Recent international reporting on Iraq has focused on the wave of violence and the spike in insurgent activity. Yet only a few weeks ago, press reports were trumpeting a lull in attacks as the end of the insurgency.

The political process in Iraq - as covered by the few reports that do not focus exclusively on the number of bombs and shootings - appears similarly erratic: elation over the elections rapidly deteriorated into cynicism and despair over parliamentary wrangling. The press has painted a picture of political chaos in which inflexible politicians are squandering the momentum created by brave Iraqi voters...

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[Red Badger]

Steady REPUBLICAN PROGRESS IN IRAQ!..............

[Cap Huff]

Good article. Thanks for posting.

[Coop]

Good stuff here. The next step, IMHO, needs to be a public execution (followed by a fair trial) of Saddam Hussein.

[Cap Huff]

Sounds like a plan . . .

[PzLdr]

Public PAINFUL execution, say along the line of the last fifteen minutes of "BRAVEHEART".

[ClaireSolt]

More and more, the news is not based on reporting and is not even current. Last week they wanted to emphasize a memo about 2002 and an Amnesty report based on not visiting GITMO.

[Cap Huff]

Exactly. That's why this article jumps out. This kind of information can be found on many of the blogs, but the MSM is, with few exceptions, warped in their coverage. The CSM sometimes has an insightful article and this seems to be one of them.

[AFPhys]

There is a phrase I hear in almost every conversation with Iraqis that captures the mood of this process: hutwa bi hutwa, or "step by step."

I hear it from National Assembly members talking about writing the new constitution, from anticorruption watchdogs trying to monitor the government, and from women's groups planning a campaign to reduce violence in schools.

The lead-up is the same: The conversation turns to the magnitude of a task at hand, and the seemingly insurmountable challenges involved. There is a shrug of the shoulders, a resigned smile, and the words hutwa bi hutwa. "Step by step" is the way Iraqis reconcile their great hopes for the future with recognition of the slow, painful march it will take to get there.

Take the security situation, for example. The threat has not decreased, nor have the insurgents lost their will or capability to inflict damage. But behind the headlines of the recent spate of attacks, the step-by-step approach is gaining momentum. Iraq is producing new police and military forces that are gradually winning the confidence of the people they serve - so much so that the public is providing more and more valuable information on insurgent activity. That enables the weapons cache seizures and high profile arrests that then increase public respect for the forces, which helps with recruiting and decreases support for the insurgents.

I wish I had read this article earlier. It is a great demonstration of what we are helping the Iraqis do.

We will beat the terrorists. Iraqis will win their liberty. It will take years more, but we're on the way.