Comments on: Iraqis Protest Against U.S. Presence: White House – It’s Progress!

By: DLS

DLS — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 00:06:39 +0000

> to believe that these people are
> wishing the US out so that the
> sectarian blood bath can begin

Critics have long seized the cry: “THE CIVIL WAR IN IRAQ IS UNDERWAY! IT’S ALREADY BEGUN!!” You are too late.

By: kritter

kritter — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:57:06 +0000

jeff- why not let them vote on it? I keep thinking about that poll that had 60% of Iraqis saying that it was ok to kill Americans. Plus anti-US sentiment is way up in countries that we count on to be more moderate like Jordan and Egypt, because of the occupation.

By: Thunder_Snow

Thunder_Snow — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:54:38 +0000

Hey White Agent -

Nice pithy post you put up there, and no mistakes!

Kudos,

Thunder Snow

By: White Agent

White Agent — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:29:05 +0000

jeff- Take a vote then. lol

By: BrianOfAtlanta

BrianOfAtlanta — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:02:18 +0000

Hey, where did my link go? Here's the link to the MNF picture again:

By: BrianOfAtlanta

BrianOfAtlanta — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 20:56:13 +0000

The Bush administration gets no points for fumbling what should have been another easy chance for PR points, but the protest turns out to have been pretty pathetic. 5,000 to 7,000 protestors in any major Iraqi city would have been on the anemic side, but for Najaf this was a stunningly pathetic showing by al-Sadr’s supporters. CNN had reported that 3,00,000 [sic] had left Sadr City to participate in the protest. Somebody was being a bit optimistic.

The Multi-National Force website has a picture of the protest:

By: White Agent

White Agent — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 20:48:23 +0000

The Unwanted, Led by the Unqualified, to do the Unnecessary, for the Ungrateful.

Its time to leave Iraq.

By: PWT

PWT — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:41:55 +0000

What they say: “US out of Iraq now!”

What they mean: “We want a stable functioning democracy that no longer needs to be propped up by a foreign power”. In that regard, we all want the US out, the problem is that the Iraqi people are not yet able to stand on their own. When they are ready, we will leave.

To believe otherwise, (i.e. to believe that these people are wishing the US out so that the sectarian blood bath can begin – which is the belief that the author of this post and the original article seem to hold) is outlandish.

By: stevesh

stevesh — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:10:15 +0000

BTW: In the spirit of “Hope Springs Eternal” Mr. Wong inserted a “ten” where Reuters (Reuters!?!?) had none:

Anti-US protest in Iraq, Baghdad under curfew
(Reuters)

9 April 2007

NAJAF, Iraq – Baghdad was under curfew on Monday, the fourth anniversary of the fall of the capital to US forces, as Iraqis streamed to the city of Najaf for a big anti-US protest called by fiery cleric Moqtada Al Sadr.

â€œNo, no to America, yes, yes to Moqtada,â€? thousands of marching Iraqis, mainly men and young boys waving Iraqi flags, chanted as they marched through the Shiâ€™ite holy southern city.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:58:30 +0000

Third interpretation. A bunch of Shiites loyal to Sadr want the U.S. out. But Sadr Shiites hardly make up the majority of the population. So I can’t see how this prostest demonstrates the Iraqi people as a whole want us out. They might, but this protest is not anywhere close to conclusive evidence that they do.

By: Kevin H

Kevin H — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:58:22 +0000

When I first heard about the protest my thought was, “Well, at least it was peaceful.” Which isn’t that far off the WH spin. I wouldn’t call it “great progress” but it is an encouraging sign for democracy.

The only problem is, and what the WH still doesn’t seem to get is that Democracy and US interests don’t always go hand in hand….

By: jeff

jeff — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:55:16 +0000

my first reaction was ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ but, despite pwt’s sarcasm, I can see some ‘improvement’. However, I believe that the response to this improvement would be better if the white house added something along the lines of ‘given the fact that these people have decided to air their grievances peacefully, we are encouraging the government of iraq to meet with the representatives of the protest in an attempt to begin the healing of the many wounds this country has suffered. If the US can assist in this dialog in any way, it will’

By: stevesh

stevesh — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:52:15 +0000

Somehow this excellent piece has not gotten the exposure it deserves. Possibly because of it’s unlikely provenance:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tish-durkin/iraq-a-place-of-ambivale_b_45145.html

By: PWT

PWT — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:16:41 +0000

Exactly, demonstrations such as this one were a common occurrence during Saddam’s rule. It is good to see that the dialog between the people and the government have resumed. Perhaps, just to illustrate what a long road back it has been, Michael, you could direct us to to some stories detailing the vibrant protests that occurred before Saddam was removed from power. I’ll be waiting.

By: kritter

kritter — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:56:11 +0000

Looks like they finally have national unity on one issue at least— they want us out of their country. Mission accomplished!

By: Rudi

Rudi — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:46:05 +0000

I could have sworn I seen McClown at the rally. Probably stopped by after a visit to the market in his convertible.