We’ve been thinking about Ronald Reagan the last few days–and rightly so–but there are a several positive developments from Iraq that, even if we weren’t mourning the former president, might not get the media attention they deserve.
In short, these are stories that reflect well either on the United States or the Bush administration.
Although Inkwell isn’t a huge fan of the East River Debating Society, the passage of the U.S.-Brit backed U.N. resolution on the Iraqi interim government is noteworthy and a victory for the United States.
From the Reuters report: “‘The significance of this resolution…is to take away the concept of occupation, which I would say was the main reason for many of the difficulties that we have been going through since liberation,’ Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoghyar Zebari said in New York.”
Andrew Sullivan notes the freeing of the Italian hostages in Iraq by U.S. Special Forces and the capture of an “aide” to terrorist Zarqawi as two underplayed stories. “You can barely find them in the papers,” Sullivan (our quote boy for the last two entries) writes. “If hostages had been killed or Zarqawi had killed again, it might be a different story.”
Finally, from the Wall Street Journal, there is this on the vastly underreported story of Iraqi gratitude: “A myth has developed that Iraqis aren’t grateful for their liberation from Saddam. So it’s worth noting that the leaders of Iraq’s new interim government have been explicit and gracious in their thanks, not that you’ve heard this from the U.S. media.
“First in Arabic and then in English, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said in his inaugural address to the Iraqi people last Tuesday that ‘I would like to record our profound gratitude and appreciation to the U.S.-led international coalition, which has made great sacrifices for the liberation of Iraq.’ In his own remarks, President Ghazi al-Yawer said: ‘Before I end my speech, I would like us to remember our martyrs who fell in defense of freedom and honor, as well as our friends who fell in the battle for the liberation of Iraq.'”