Posted on 08/08/2006 8:22:13 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch
This past Sunday, Major General William McCoy, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division/Project and Contracting Office in Iraq, sent a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, a copy of which we obtained, in response to a Washington Post article by Andy Mosher on 2 August 2006.
After spending almost three days traveling with and being interviewed by one of the co-writers of a very poorly written article Much Undone in Rebuilding Iraq, Audit says , Washington Post, August 2, 2006), I’m astounded at how distorted a good story can become and what agenda drives a paper to see only the bad side to the reconstruction effort here in Iraq. Instead of distorting the facts, let’s get to the truth.
There is no flailing reconstruction effort in Iraq. The United States has rightfully invested $20 billion in Iraq’s reconstruction - in the opinion of many here, we should do more. This massive undertaking is part of a wider strategy for success in Iraq that involves the establishment of a democratic government, the development of professional Iraqi Security Forces, and the restoration of basic essential services and facilities to promote the sustained economic development of this new country.
Yes, this reconstruction effort has been challenged occasionally by security, poor materials, poor construction program management practices, and in some cases poor performance by contractors for a variety of reasons. The Department of State and Defense professionals over here, many of them civilian volunteers, and the Iraqi associates who risk their lives every day to have a future that approximates what America has today, continuously see the challenges and develop and implement solutions. This is a core part of managing construction anywhere in the world and, while somewhat more complex here, it is successfully being accomplished. Have we been guilty of poor planning and mismanagement? The answer to that is, at times, yes. But professionals constantly strive to overcome challenges that arise and we are succeeding and making Iraq better every day!
The heart of the article rests on several old statements by the Special Investigator General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) which infer these are recent or recurring problems. The SIGIR knows that, in fact, program management, construction quality, progress, and accountability have all improved significantly since the early days of the effort some three years ago. Yet, the reporters’ “project problems” comments infer that these are recent issues. Such actions inflame public opinion in the United States and create resentment by the very people so many conscientious Americans over here are trying to help here in Iraq and worse, embolden our very enemies.
When I arrived here a year ago we planned to complete 3,200 reconstruction projects. Today we are focusing on the completion of 3,700 projects. We’ve started 3,500 of those projects and completed almost 2,800…and work is continuing! This is not a failure to meet our commitment to the Iraqi people as the article states. In some cases we are not executing the same projects—we have changed to meet new priorities of three government changes in Iraq since our arrival—but in all cases, rest assured, these projects will be completed. We discussed this at length with the reporter…and he was taking notes and recording our conversations.
We told the reporter that, while 141 health clinic construction projects were taken away from a U.S. contractor who failed to perform, they were re-awarded to Iraqi contractors who are already demonstrating progress, have improved quality and shown their great desire to work with the United States to help Iraq improve…and they are doing so phenomenally! We did talk to the reporter about on electricity. Three-quarters of Iraq gets twice as much electricity today as they did before the war. Furthermore, we are working with the Minister of Electricity to improve the situation in Baghdad daily and have doubled the hours of power from four to eight in the capitol in the last six months in spite of the fact that demand is markedly increased with Iraqis’ new ability to buy personal electrical products. What is truly amazing to me is that we took the reporter to the Nasiriyah prison project and, while it is true that we terminated the prime U.S. contractor for failure to perform, the Iraqi sub-contractor continues to work there (now directly for us) and his progress and quality have improved significantly...and he saw that! We are not turning unfinished work over to the Iraqis as he stated in his article; we are fulfilling the U.S. commitment to the people of Iraq and using Iraqis to do it!
The reporter didn’t tell you about the hundreds of dedicated military and civilian professionals he saw over here working to make Iraq better, or the Iraqis who come to work every day at their own peril because they believe in what we, and they, are accomplishing together. He failed to tell you about Aseel or Salah who worked for the Corps of Engineers since we arrived in 2003, because they wanted to make their country like ours, but who were recently brutally murdered in the streets because they worked for the Americans. He never wrote about the Water Treatment Plant he visited that will provide fresh potable water to over half a million people in southern Iraq in just two more months, or the one in northern Iraq that is providing water for the 330,000 citizens of Irbil. He never told folks back home about the thousands of children that are now in 800 new or rebuilt schools, or about oil production now being back to pre-war levels and getting better everyday, or raw sewage being taken out of the streets and put back in the pipes where it belongs, or about the thousands of miles of new roads, or post offices, police stations or courthouses or… well, he just left a great deal out now, didn’t he?
Why? Perhaps it’s because some in the press don’t want the American people to know the truth and prefer instead to only report the negative aspects of the news because “it sells papers.” We deserve better from those who claim the protection of the Constitution we are fighting to support and defend. America, don’t give up. You are doing much better over here than all too many of your press will tell you. If you are tired of fighting for freedom and democracy for those who so strongly long for the country we have, then think of the alternatives for a moment. Iraq will be better for our efforts and so will the world. And you are making it happen. Be proud and keep supporting this vital effort. It is the most important thing America can do.
I don't think the idea, "If it bleeds, it leads" can account for the reporting in most of the US press with respect to the Iraq war.
One may then draw their own conclusions.
In the Orwellian-twisted minds of the mainstream press, telling the truth is 'cheerleading' while disseminating distortion is being objective. As we all know, objectivity is defined by how negatively a given story portrays the United States.
Al-Jazeera, La Liberacion, Xinhua, Granma, et al are therefore the most objective news organs in the world. The Post is only trying to catch up.
The press prefers to report only the negative because it "sells papers"?That may be part of it,but the fact is they(press)want us out of Iraq and they want us to fail.How's it done?By constantly bombarding the American public with negative and dishonest stories from Iraq.
Nor even the claim that "journalists are afraid to leave Baghdad and have to rely on stringers instead." Please, they're passing the buck for their biased journalism onto Iraqis. I thought according to these same reporters Baghdad is the most dangerous place to be. Then when they're called on never reporting anything positive in Iraq they suddenly declare Baghdad a safe haven from which they dare not emerge? Spare me. This is just agendized journalism at its worst to turn the American public against the war (they succeeded) and to help their party of choice, the Democrats.
And when the administration makes the occassional effort to cut through the haze of bias, hags like Hillary accuse them of engaging in "happy talk." Anyway, good for the general for writing this. I suspect it will never see the light of day in the Compost.
Ping
Any information if the Washington Post has published this letter...yet?
The ones in actual control are sacrificing the lame-stream press as "your daddy's websites" et al to begin the brainwashing routine on weblogs, to make the non-babyboomers feel soooooo advant garde.
And algore owns how much of Apple?
The heart of the article rests on several old statements by the Special Investigator General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) which infer these are recent or recurring problems. The SIGIR knows that, in fact, program management, construction quality, progress, and accountability have all improved significantly since the early days of the effort some three years ago. Yet, the reporters’ “project problems” comments infer that these are recent issues. Such actions inflame public opinion in the United States and create resentment by the very people so many conscientious Americans over here are trying to help here in Iraq and worse, embolden our very enemies.
If you own the press you own the information that gets to the public. That is what the Communists did and they have been doing here since the 30's.
What is the medias agenda? The Communists own the MSM. It is in their manifesto to do so and was identified in the "Naked Communist." Their agenda is to make the US under Republican leadership look bad in the eyes of the world while making Democrats look good.
If Gore was in office in 2003, we would have found the WMD, the reconstruction effort would have been going swimmingly and if there was a civil war it would not have been because of Gores policies but because of thousands of years of tribal warfare.
Just a fact of life. That is why the MSM hates the internet.
Orwell observed the same thing in England during WWII.
The press would be critical of England and America but offer no criticism of Stalin or Russia.
>...but the fact is they(press)want us out of Iraq and they want us to fail....<
Why? Once again, follow the money. Who owns the MSM?
Wow.
Seems to me more money was WASTED on the Big Dig than has been wasted in Iraq.
thats what really pisses me off, they always find a "critic" of "the adminstration" to give thier point of view or as they call it 'balance', but they always report what our enemy says as fact.
When the Senior Editor of Time Magazine decided in 1938 that he no longer wanted to be a communist, Whittaker Chambers also (later) outed several American communist spies in very high positions in the U.S. Government.............the MSM, filled with hate, went after him like they would go after Elizabeth Bently and Joe McCarthy............
Chambers, Bently and McCarthy were only trying to point out that a foreign government was trying to overthrow our Constitution.......and, the MSM ground them into the dirt........
One of the main things that just continues to amaze me is the fact that a powerful communist spy was Senior Editor at Time Magazine..............and this is the one we know about. I have no doubts in my mind that there were, and are, many, many more in the MSM..........continuing on, to this day, in their tradition of tearing down our constitution.
Call them communists, call them socialists, call them what you want...........I call them scum...........
That goes for Presidents, too. The buck stops with him - he has to be the one to tell the Iraq story loudly and clearly and let the MSM dare to call him a liar.
I have been calling on our President to go on national TV and let it all hang out, the good and the bad. Tell these folks everything and call the SOBs in Congress what they are, and hold their feet to the fire. His numbers would go through the roof!!
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