Baghdad is not under control

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/world.shtml#17500

When American troops entered Baghdad and overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein 21 months ago, Raad al-Naqib felt free at last.

But Dr. Naqib, a 46-year-old Sunni dentist who opposed Mr. Hussein, will not vote Sunday when Iraqis will have their first opportunity in a generation to participate in an election with no predetermined outcome. It is, he said, far too dangerous when insurgent groups have warned that they will kill anybody who approaches a polling station.

Starkly put, Baghdad is not under control, either by the Iraqi interim government or the American military.

On the bright spring day in April 2003 when marines helped topple Mr. Hussein's statue in Firdos Square, Baghdad, more than any other place in Iraq, was the place American commanders hoped to make a showcase for the benefits the invasion would bring.

Instead, daily life here has become a deadly lottery, a place so fraught with danger that one senior American military officer acknowledged at a briefing last month that nowhere in the area assigned to his troops could be considered safe.

more

[bluestateguy]

1. All together now...

WE..TOLD..YOU..SO!

That felt good.

[DELUSIONAL]

2. Yes it does!

[mhr]

12. And The Sad Part Is The Delusional Freepers Will Never Be Man

Enough to admit that they were wrong.

We will be debating how wrong they were for the rest of our lives. They will continue their defense for that time as well.

It's kind of like debating religion - no ones mind is going to change.

Given the environment and times, Iraq will become as divisive as Vietnam.

I'm afraid our country is hopelessly fractured.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

17. If their golden calves go up the river for warcrimes, uh... they will have

no choice but to change their minds. One can only hope.

[jamesinca]

24. They won't change their minds

If they are sent to jail for war crimes it will be a partisan attack on a godly man who is being persecuted for his love of Jesus. It will be a wag the dog thing because the humanistic secularism of the democratic party does not want you to see their real agenda. That agenda will be the acceptance of Sponge Bob square pants and his gay starfish friend Patrick. That has nothing to do with war crimes, but that will be the argument IMO. They will go to defense of Bush plan B. They will criticize school books for their liberal bias when they refer to him as a war criminal or having won elections that were anything but open and honest. They will play the victim. They will cry that they are being persecuted and beat up by the bully liberals. They will say we hate them because of their values and morality. They will say that we blame America first, hate it for its Christian values and foundation and that we are unpatriotic for not backing a war president even after he is out of office.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

3. Control is hard work

very hard....

[leftchick]

4. No one thought "Baghdad would become a showcase"!!!

only the fucking insane neo-cons and their idiot repuke followers!

[Judi Lynn]

5. We're really showing them how it's done!

From the Times article at your link:

Across Baghdad, Security Is Only an Ideal

Published: January 27, 2005

(Page 2 of 2)
American commanders, acknowledging they have little chance of stopping the suicide bombers once the bomb-laden vehicles set out, have authorized the machine-gunners in the last vehicle of each convoy to open fire on any driver who ignores hand signals and warning shots to back off as he approaches a convoy from the rear.

This tactic has led to a growing number of incidents in which American gunners, in Humvees traveling at 50 miles an hour or less, have fired at suspected car bombers, only to discover afterward that the drivers who died were innocent civilians who had missed the warning signals, or perhaps never knew that overtaking American convoys was likely to be fatal.

These incidents have compounded a widespread impression among the people of Baghdad that the Americans are careless of Iraqi lives. Dr. Naqib, the dentist, fearful as he is of insurgent attacks, said he feared the Americans more. "The Americans, they are part of the terrorism," he said.
(snip)

[LSparkle]

6. But Campbell Brown and Peter Jennings are there ...

How can it not be safe? (sarcasm off) They'd rather give us "happy news" than the TRUTH, even as we ship more kids off ...

[leftchick]

7. nothing but happy Happy Horseshit

for ameriKan TV viewers!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

19. And don't let the America actually see the death and destruction.

It might confuse them on the "facts".

[Tempest]

9. They may be there

But I bet they haven't left their hotel rooms since they arrived.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

18. Read Doonesbury

There's a good story arc the past week with Roland Hedley reporting from Baghdad, but afraid to leave the hotel room

[Tempest]

20. Garry Trudeau got the story line from Semour Hersh

Hersh did a report on how journalists never leave the hotels because of the violence and the number of journalists killed in Iraq.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

21. Can't say as I blame them, really...

If the members of the First Marine Expeditionary Force aren't safe, imagine the danger to a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism and Bartending.

[Mystified]

8. I realize this is a new article

But it doesn't really seem like "Latest breaking news". Hasn't this been true since Georgie Boy got us into this mess?

[Tempest]

11. LOL!

How very true.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[BillZBubb]

10. "No predetermined outcome"

Yeah, right. Only those who support the US occupation will win.

[olddad56]

13. Baghdad not under control? Neither is Washington D.C.

[alexisfree]

14. no shit!

[DulceDecorum]

15. Fake news discovers that reality bites.

A wide angle shot in which you can see the whole of Fardus Square (conveniently located just opposite the Palestine Hotel where the international media are based), and the presence of at most around 200 people – most of them US troops (note the tanks and armored vehicles) and assembled journalists.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2838.htm

[deutsey]

16. Maybe the Bush Junta shoulda listened to that "focus group"...

:shrug:

Baghdad is burning, don't tell King George...

[Cooley Hurd]

22. "when marines helped topple Mr. Hussein's statue in Firdos Square"

Kinda hard to topple a 40 ft statue with only 6 Iraqis and a Toyota mini-pickup truck, wasn't it?:crazy:

[Scurrilous]

23. Don't worry...

... all is well!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1003819.cms

Series of blasts rock poll booths

<snip>

"BAGHDAD: Iraqi police fired on a car just as its driver set off a load of explosives on Friday, ripping it apart and killing four policemen, as insurgents targeted polling sites across the country with just two days to go before historic elections.
Fighter jets thundered through the skies over the capital throughout the morning, in a sign the American military has increased its readiness to respond to any trouble during the vote."

<snip>

"Friday's suicide car bombing has rattled Baghdad's Dora neighbourhood. The southern district has become a flashpoint in recent days, with several street battles between insurgents and Iraqi national-guard troops, and with assassinations of government officials."

<snip>

"On Friday, police opened fire on the speeding car in an attempt to stop it just it burst into flames. Hours later, another car bomb exploded on the neighborhood's main road, causing some damage to a school where voters are to cast ballots on Sunday. No one was hurt."


<snip>

"Also on Friday, insurgents shelled a U.S. Marine base south of Baghdad, injuring three American troops and three civilians, the military said."

[Az_lefty]

25. I was in Iraq in 03'

Baghdad, Fallujah, Najaf have never been under control!