Posted by
Boomer911 on Saturday, July 05, 2008 12:50:28 PM
The situation in Iraq and the overall global war on terror is going rather well as of late, prompting Barack Obama to now say he is "refining" his thoughts about Iraq. If Obama is now reconsidering his views on Iraq shouldn't that be making his hard left base re-think their positions as well? I wouldn't count on it. I thought I would copy and paste an article here concerning the news out of Iraq. Again, it is good news and definitely needs to be talked about on all levels of social interaction. Its from an unlikely source and needs to be shown and forwarded to everyone. We are winning this war and we are defeating the terrorists. Our continued efforts in the war are critical to making sure we not only win, but destroy completely our enemies. Enjoy!
"Optimism Grows in Iraq as Daily Life Improves"
That headline appears not in NR nor on Fox News, but in the leftish German newsweekly Spiegel. It opens:
There is an unexpected air of normalcy prevailing in Baghdad these days, with consumption flourishing and confidence in the government growing. The progress is astonishing, but can it last?
Pork is available in Baghdad once again. Not just in the Green Zone, where US diplomats can enjoy their spare ribs and Parma ham, but also across the Tigris River, in the real Baghdad, at "Al-Warda" on Karada Street. Bassim Dencha, 32, one of the few Christians remaining in Iraq and the co-owner of Baghdad's finest supermarket, has developed a supply line from Syria. As a result, he now has frozen pork chops and bratwurst arranged in his freezers, next to boxes of frozen French fries and German Black Forest Cakes. And the customers are buying.
For four years, selling pork or alcohol in Baghdad was a security risk. But the acts of terror committed by Islamist fundamentalists, who once punished such violations of their interpretation of the Koran with attacks on businesses and their owners, have gradually subsided. The supply of imported goods is also relatively secure today, now that roads through the Sunni Triangle are significantly safer than they were only a few months ago.
"It's worth it again," says businessman Bassim Dencha. "All we need now is enough electricity to reopen our refrigerated warehouse."
Two kilometers down the street, business is booming late into the night at Ali Lami's roadside snack bar. Before the war the establishment, a Baghdad institution, was a favorite hangout for former dictator Saddam Hussein's henchmen and United Nations weapons inspectors alike. Today professors and students from the university, which is once again open every day, come here to eat shawarma, an Arab fast-food dish consisting of shaved meat and salad served in pita bread.
This fall the manager, Rassak Rashid, 44, plans to open an outdoor seating area in a grove of palm trees behind the snack bar. The lanterns are already hanging in the trees. "Maybe then the police will stop telling our customers to get off the street," says Rashid.
He isn't referring to parking violations, but to the fear of bombs that could be hidden in cars parked along the curb. The police patrolling the streets in front of places like Ali Lami's snack bar aren't entirely convinced that this fragile sense of normalcy will last. While there are certainly signs of improvement, the dangers of life in Baghdad haven't disappeared.