What I heard about Iraq in 2005

Eliot Weinberger puts together the soundbites, the facts, the statistics that show how the War on Terror is being 'won' in Iraq:

I heard that the US was planning an embassy in Baghdad that would cost $1.5 billion, as expensive as the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero, the proposed tallest building in the world.

I saw a headline in the Los Angeles Times that read: ‘After Levelling City, US Tries to Build Trust.’

I heard that military personnel were now carrying ‘talking point’ cards with phrases such as: ‘We are a values-based, people-focused team that strives to uphold the dignity and respect of all.’

I heard that 47 per cent of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein helped plan 9/11 and 44 per cent believed that the hijackers were Iraqi; 61 per cent thought that Saddam had been a serious threat to the US and 76 per cent said the Iraqis were now better off.

And here is the very latest:

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced a modest reduction of U.S. troop numbers in Iraq on Friday, as American officials said Iraqi forces are enjoying newfound success blocking insurgents trying to enter the country from Syria.

and here (link via gyanoprabha)

A leading aide to the former secretary of state Colin Powell has accused Vice-President Dick Cheney of creating the climate in which prisoner abuse could flourish, and implied that he might have committed war crimes.

technorati tags:
Iraq, Bush