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Iraqis
say enough is enough
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WASHINGTON,
Aug 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A secure and prosperous
Iraq exists only in the pages of the implausibly upbeat 100-day
"progress report" recently issued by the White House, a
leading U.S. newspaper commented Thursday, August 14, on the report
which drew up a rosy picture for the occupied Arab country.
"Future
White House reports should describe that world, not wishful
fantasies," wrote The New York Times in an editorial
published Thursday.
The
daily slammed the U.S. administration's downplay of the real risks taken
by the U.S. troops in Iraq, describing the report as very much
optimistic and has nothing to do with the real world.
"Not
mentioned in the Panglossian report, covering the 100 days after
President Bush declared an end to major combat operations, were the 56
American soldiers killed in attacks during that period.
Some
60 U.S. soldiers have been killed in resistance attacks, while another
60 have died in non-combat incidents since the White House declared
major combat operations in Iraq over on May 1, according to an
AFP account.
"In
Iraq today, American soldiers die, electricity shortages lead to
rioting, and the threat of terrorism against civilians must be taken
increasingly seriously. The biggest problems have been airbrushed out of
the White House report, making it read more like a Bush campaign flier
than a realistic accounting to the American people," the Times
said.
Earlier
in the week, frustrated Iraqis took to the
street in the southern city of Basra Iraqis to protest their deplorable
conditions under occupation and the failure to restore order in the
oil-rich country after more than four months since the U.S. troops had
rolled into Baghdad.
Iraqis
charged that the U.S.-led occupation authority deliberately
cut off electricity and water as a collective punishment in retaliation for
mounting resistance attacks.
"In
the face of news reports detailing continued insecurity, failing basic
services and painstakingly slow political progress, the White House
cites significant signs of better security, improved basic services and
emerging democracy," the daily added.
'Scrambling
For Support'
The
paper further said the Bush administration is "scrambling" now
to line up countries willing to support the U.S. troops in their uphill
days in Iraq after finding themselves trapped in a quagmire, rebuffing a
U.N. broad-scale participation in rebuilding postwar Iraq.
Quoting
U.S. administration officials, the daily said Thursday that the U.S. has
abandoned the idea of giving the world body more of a role in
reconstructing Iraq as sought by France, India and other countries as a
condition for their participation in peacekeeping there.
Arab
foreign ministers unanimously rebuffed
Tuesday, August 5, an American request to send troops to stabilize Iraq.
The
United Nations Security Council is meanwhile set to vote later
Thursday on a U.S.-drafted resolution that would, but not formally,
recognize Iraq's interim Governing Council.
The
paper slammed the administration's exaggeration of evidence on alleged
weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq and links with Al Qaeda.
On
July 30, the Bush administration came under
a barrage of criticisms from members of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee who charged the administration had "shifted
justification" of the Iraq war from alleged weapons of mass
destruction to simply the human rights violations of ousted president
Saddam Hussein.
"Many
of today's problems in Iraq can be traced to the Bush administration's
tendency to credit what it wants to believe rather than more realistic
accounts," the Times concluded.
