Saturday, October 29

This Week in Iraq

This week in Iraq has seen quite a bit of good news that missed the media spotlight. First, I'd like to congratulate the San Francisco Chronicle for having the courage to report on MAJ Steve Warren, and how he feels about the Western coverage of Iraq. In this article, MAJ Warren says that he watches American TV reports from Iraq, "and I ask myself, 'where are they?'"

MAJ Warren is in Diyala, part of the Sunni Triangle. He had a translator listening to a local radio talk show, where Sunnis complained of the US troops' presence. But they also complained about the trash on the streets. Knowing that soldiers are training from boot camp to be as clean as possible, he saw a solution. The troops bought garbage trucks and cleaned the city up, literally. Now instead of complaining about the Americans, the Baquba residents complain about schools and unemployment. Progress is being made, thanks to heroes like MAJ Steve Warren and his men.

Chad Evans from In The Bullpen posted an entry yesterday about the US troops reducing their presence. I think it's too early to significant withdrawal -- there is much left to be done. Nevertheless, we have been cutting back. Since February, the US has either closed or transferred to the Iraqi military ten bases in Iraq. Next month we'll be turning over Saddam's presidential palaces to the Iraqi government.

In other news,
  • Two generators installed at water treatment facilities in Baghdad (10/24) Further increasing the flow of clean water.
  • Construction begins on a million-dollar water project in Kirkuk (10/25) Ditto. This is a lot of money being spent to fight disease and starvation.
Do all these reconstruction news bits really make a difference? You bet they do. LTCOL S. Jamie Gayton, commander of the 2nd Brigade Troops Battalion wrote "Technicians and operators were challenged with maintaining an electrical distribution network that was ignored throughout the years of Saddam Hussein's reign.... The electrical distribution system in Betoul has changed the lives of all the residents. When we arrived here, this area was one of the first I visited. The project had just started and the residents told me of its importance. On every return trip, they remained upbeat and patient, trusting that good things would happen. They were rewarded this summer when a special electrical feeder was linked to the distribution network and the system was energized for the very first time." The picture above shows Gayton's troops looking over the new electrical system in Betoul, a poor Baghdad suburb.

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