In all the cacophony of the media frenzy that is trying to force a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, there are still people who are trying to offer some balance. Those voices are pretty much being ignored. But Major General William Caldwell at least tries to counter some of the media bias and misreporting.
BAGHDAD — I don't see a civil war in Iraq. I don't see a constituency for civil war. The vast majority of the people want hope for their families, not to massacre their neighbors or divide their country. A poll conducted in June by the International Republican Institute, a nonpartisan group that promotes democracy, found 89 percent of Iraqis supporting a unity government representing all sects and ethnic communities. No wonder no "rebel army" steps forward to claim credit for vicious car bombs and cowardly executions of civilians.
I see debates among Iraqis — often angry and sometimes divisive — but arguments characteristic of political discourse, not political breakdown. The Council of Representatives meets here in Baghdad as the sole legitimate sovereign representative of the people, 12 million of whom braved bombs and threats last December to vote. No party has seceded or claimed independent territory.
Read the whole thing. It runs contrary to the new media-delivered conventional wisdom. It will, therefore, be widely ignored by said media. But as I and many others have pointed out, forcing a precipitous withdrawal will ensure a bloodbath in Iraq and potentially ignite a regional war.
UPDATE: But then, the mindset seems to be "screw them, let them die". At least that is what George McGovern's attitude appears to be.
