Investigating in the Middle East
August 9, 2008 by Gee Carol
Difficult to discover — It is a long way from the United States to the Middle East. The Middle East can be a very dangerous place for fact-finders. Fortunately for us, investigative journalists persist in trying to ascertain what is actually happening in the region.
These authors did considerable investigation resulting in several contrasting elements — wonderfully personal stories of soldiers and their families, detailed facts and figures about the war termed Operation Enduring Freedom, and trends in the current Afghan war situation. The story is worth reading for a number of reasons. “500: Deadly U.S. Milestone in Afghan War,” is the sad Memeorandum headline from the New York Times. To quote from the article (By KIRK SEMPLE and ANDREW W. LEHREN. Published: August 6, 2008):
. . . in June, the war in Afghanistan roared back into public view when American deaths from hostilities exceeded those in Iraq. In the face of an expanding threat from the Taliban, the conflict is becoming deadlier and much more violent for American troops, who three weeks ago reached their highest deployment levels ever, at 36,000.June was the second deadliest month for the military in Afghanistan since the war began, with 23 American deaths from hostilities, compared with 22 in Iraq. July was less deadly, with 20 deaths, compared with six in Iraq. On July 22, nearly seven years after the conflict began on Oct. 7, 2001, the United States lost its 500th soldier in the Afghanistan war.
Trusted Middle East expert, Juan Cole of Informed Comment has been investigating the latest news from the region and gives us some of his useful (and alarming) discovery and analysis. The Iraqi Parliament adjourned for several weeks with “no provincial election law.” The Arabs are threatening violence over the issue of Kirkuk. Quoting further,
The sticking point was finding an acceptable formula for holding the elections in the mixed province of Kirkuk, which is being fought over by Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs. The failure to pass the law makes it virtually impossible to hold provincial elections in 2008.
. . . Even more alarming than the Iraqi parliament’s inability to arrange for provincial elections to be held over 2 years after they were first scheduled is the reason for the failure. The debate on provincial elections has revealed that the Kirkuk dispute is a volcano about to blow, and that ordinary liberal institutions of debate and compromise seem helpless before the ethno-nationalist passions boiling there. Resolving Kirkuk is not only key to social peace in northern Iraq but also in the entire eastern Mediterranean.
“State IG to probe a deal between a Texas oil firm and Iraqi Kurds,” is an article taken from TPM Muckraker, known for its investigative journalism. The story goes on to quote the details of Texas’ Hunt Oil Company’s deal with the Kurds from the New York Times. To quote the opening :
Publicly, the U.S. State Department said it was discouraging U.S. oil companies from forging deals with Iraqi Kurds last year.But privately, Bush administration officials may have sent different signals.
Now the State Department’s Inspector General has launched an investigation into what exactly was said to whom.
Adding unique insight into a high profile expose’ — Also from Informed Comment comes additional details from Professor Cole regarding the Ron Suskind book, “The Way of the World.” The book’s author discloses further details about an allegedly forged Abu Nidal letter used to make the case for the war in Iraq. Cole’s post is particularly valuable as it brings in facts usually known principally in the ME region.
McClatchy has the best – Frequently Professor Cole finishes one of his posts with a summary of the latest war facts and figures taken from McClatchy’s coverage. McClatchy Newspapers carries an excellent in-depth study (8 months) of the Guantanamo Bay prison entitled, “Guantanamo: Beyond the Law.” (Link to Table of Contents). Before you read the entire series, I recommend Juan Cole’s (6/18/08) post, “The Great Torture Scandal.”
Today’s post begins in Afghanistan, moves to northern Iraq, and ends in Guantanamo, Cuba, a shameful stand-in for the war-zones, and intimately connected to the Middle East. Kudos to Kirk Semple, Andrew Lehren, Juan Cole, and to The New York Times and McClatchy Newspapers, for upholding investigations it will take years to complete.
(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)
My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.
Technorati tags: news news and politics journalism] investigate afghanistan iraq middle east
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I never liked the embedded press idea– press that was controlled by the military, editied by the military. How can you get the truth out under that kind of scrutiny. If you publish things they disapprove of, they kick you out, as one journalist recently discovered when he wrote a blog oiece about something & the US military deemed he put the troops at risk by showing a killed soldier (unrecognizable).
It bothers me that Obama is talking about sending 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan…. and it also bothers me that he would be so naieve to announce this 6 months in advance.
I don’t want troop escalation in Afghanistan, but giving the Taliban a 6 months heads up is probably not so wise either.
Frans last blog post..Reality Check
Fran, your comment is thoughtful and welcome. The war clamp-down seems complete. Except for those few independents who go out to get their stories with either hired protection or no protection, it is darned hard to find out the truth.
For sure we cannot confine our reading to American news providers. One of my resources for years has been Aljazeera, who provided pretty good stuff, it seems to me. The other good source, I think the best, is London’s Financial Times. For perspective, I also read Russia’s Ria Novosti (gov’t influenced, of course) and the Asia Times.
Regarding Obama, with all his flaws he’s still worlds better than MCCain, IMHO.
CarolGees last blog post..Other Nations Today — the battles unfold
I agree Carol— Obama is undoubtably better, but the cynic in me says politicians are politicians…. our system makes them corrupt, and most will say whatever you want to hear to get elected.
frans last blog post..Insurance Quandry
I remember, Fran, what my PoliSci prof said about “politics.” He called it the “art of the possible.”
My thinking is this on voting. If it would be possible to cast a vote for either 1)McCain or 2)Obama, or 3)not vote at all, I’ll take box number two, and urge everyone else to do the same. It is entirely possible that either of the other choices would be as good, but not likely.
I have no illusions about what comes next. I think the deal should be one pragmatic decision at a time, and stay “grounded in the day.”
Thanks, Fran, I enjoy our dialogue.
CarolGees last blog post..Off the beaten path of politics
All politicians are scum. We have a few elected reps that are not hardcore pols-Kucinich, Feingold to name two.
Obama is a pol…sad but true. As for better than McCain, only time will tell. Billy Clinton was a jerk and worthless in my opinion..best democratic president the republicans ever had.
Dusty, I have a feeling that you are not being well-represented by your House Member or Senators, and that you can’t find any local candidate to support and work for. All three of mine are Republicans and walk the party line.
However, there are a few from elsewhere around the country that I admire, such as Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and even in small ways, Maine’s republican Senators Snowe and Collins. One other factor that is ruining governance is special interest money and the lobbyists. So there’s lots wrong.
I have to admit that I was trained for community work by the League of Women Voters in the early 1970’s, so that gave me a bias generally in favor of elected officials. And I also admit that my other name used occasionally among some in the blogosphere is “Pollyanna-Merry-Sunshine.” So take me with a grain of salt.
Thanks for your comment, Dusty, and for being such a good editor here.
Hi Carol!
I live in the reddest county in CA. We are represented by R’s here. Locally the biblethumpers rule the roost.
I have come from the Vietnam Era..organizing was harder than it is now.
I worked for a while for MoveOn here as an organizer. It was hard but there are people in this red county that were willing to take part in the process.
What bothered me about MoveOn is that all the money they collect is kept by them. They do NOT support the anti-war movement or any other organization that is working to change things. They do NOT support any groups, but they do throw money at candidates and of course their 527 arm.
Whitehouse is a good guy, and Snow isn’t bad either..I just named the two I respect the most off the top of my head…hell, even Arlen Specter isn’t bad on constitutional rights and issues.
Some dayz I am way too negative, and if I take the time to expound on my thoughts, they come off a little better than just short negative answers.
Thank you for your wonderful articles and for allowing us to publish them here at Sirens.
I have no Pollyanna love affair with my State so-called representatives. there are people who say we have a democrat seated so that HAS to be good. Well, maybe in theory, but these politicians have done nothing BUT disappoint…. especially on the big issues like the war.
the first six years of the Bush admin, they whined that their hands were tied, that they were a minority….. but they never attemptd to use the power of the purse, because they feared or used the excuse of the need to *support the troops*, as a reason to keep funding the war.
Support the troops by funding the war, which is killing & injuring more troops.
the became limp noodles on the matter of Impeachment, and when in 2006, they were finally give majority status & we all became so very hopeful they could actually do something– about impeachment & stop funding the war (or illegal occupation), they did not.
They continued to wield the rubber stamp– and in the end, they might bicker or make a fuss about something, but always caved to Bush. They have the majoritthey have the votes to override the vetos, yet they do not.
the war matter is not just political opinion– people are dying & suffering, and we have nothing but more of the same.
The fact you have to look to other states to name a few good politicians is a statement in & of itself.
I’m not on your case personally, but it is a statement to have to search the entire country of alleged representatives, to name less thana handful of politicians that actually are considered good.
Even in our state…. the re we have has been a pushover for war funding was running against an even shittier candidate.
So our choices were shit & shittier.
Am I thrilled that the less shitty candidate represents us?
Not exactly.
How many people are dying because of their inability to truly represent?
When I say it is a bloody mess, sadly, I mean it quite literally & figuratively.
frans last blog post..Forever Young
Fran, if you and Dusty, and others all over the blogosphere, are any measure — and I suspect you are part of a majority by now — a bunch of rascals could get thrown out in November.
I am with you regarding the deepest part of the tragedy, the loss of military and civilian lives in the Iraq war can just never be condoned.
Enormous damage has been done to our country, but I still have faith in its basic resilience. And it will take some time.