The Bush Administration says we are seeing "success in Iraq," but what does "success in Iraq" really look like?
(Cross-posted at CrazyDrumGuy)
Last week, Vice President Cheney predicted that:
Iraqis will have become "self-governing" and "capable for the most part of defending themselves, a democracy in the heart of the Middle East" by January 2009.
Defense Secretary Gates said that recent events:
"have given him hope, including the lowest levels of violence since early 2006, a substantial increase in the number of displaced Iraqis returning to their homeland, rising international investments and the willingness of more than 70,000 Iraqis to volunteer to protect their neighborhoods."
And Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte commented that:
"in Baghdad, I think the sectarian violence has subsided dramatically. And I think that's an important development with political consequences. These neighborhoods are more peaceful today than they were six or eight months ago. ... There has been a movement on the legislative front."
According to the Bush Administration, Iraq is a great success. Really? I briefly scanned this weekend's headlines from Iraq. Let's see what one weekend of Bush Administration "success" in Iraq looks like.
Washington Post: Suicide Bombing Kills 8 In Northern Iraq Oil Town
A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden truck attacked a police station north of Baghdad on Saturday, the latest in a week of bombings that have left 80 people dead.
...
The blast, which damaged nearby homes and sent shards of glass flying, killed eight people and wounded 16, police said.
AP: Bomb Kills Iraq Police Chief
A roadside bomb struck a convoy carrying the police chief of a predominantly Shiite province south of Baghdad on Sunday, killing him and two of his bodyguards, authorities said.
...
The explosion Sunday in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, struck a convoy carrying the police chief of Babil province, Brig. Gen. Qais al-Maamouri, and two guards, officials said. Fearing more violence, police imposed an indefinite curfew and the streets quickly emptied.
AP: Vigilantes Kill 40 Women in Iraq's South
Religious vigilantes have killed at least 40 women this year in the southern Iraqi city of Basra because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against "violating Islamic teachings," the police chief said Sunday.
...
[Maj. Gen. Jalil] Khalaf said bodies have been found in garbage dumps with bullet holes, decapitated or otherwise mutilated with a sheet of paper nearby saying, "she was killed for adultery," or "she was killed for violating Islamic teachings." In September, the headless bodies of a woman and her 6-year-old son were among those found, he said. A total of 40 deaths were reported this year.
Kansas City Star: Roundup of violence in Iraq
BAGHDAD
- Around 6:15 p.m. Sunday, two mortar shells slammed into the Karrada neighborhood, injuring two residents. Only one shell exploded.
- Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, a mortar shell slammed into the Bob al-Sham area in Rashidiyah, killing one resident and injuring two.
- Police found five unidentified bodies in Baghdad Sunday: one in al-Shaab, one in Sadr, one in Amil, one in Saidiyah, and one in Hurriyah.
This is success? Success is when only a dozen people die each weekend? And let's not forget the total human costs of the war so far:
BBC: Reported and Estimated Deaths in Iraq Since March 2003
Hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and over 4,000 coalition deaths. And those figures are already a month outdated. How much more "success" in Iraq do we need to see before we realize that we need a change of course? How many more people must die in the name of "success" before our leaders recognize that we need to leave Iraq? The death toll of one weekend of success in Iraq is already far too high. Will we stand for another 55 weekends of Bush's success, or will we do something to redefine success as saving lives?