military

Excellent overview of our current (2004) situation in Iraq - both the successes and problems. A good antidote to the non-stop doom and gloom from the US media. The Iraq situation is far from perfect but not at all hopeless. It has the ring of truth.

It won't convince anyone who has already made up their mind that the war against Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime was a mistake but Karl Zinmeister pens a convincing argument that things are getting better in Iraq and most people there are happier these days. Of course it's not all chocolate and sunshine. Although he's confident that Iraq can pull itself together and make a convincing go at democracy, Zinmeister several times hints he's concerned about elements in the Sunni minority that seem hell-bent on fighting the transformation of Iraq.

That said, Dawn over Baghdad is a persuasive work that makes you question what you've been seeing on the network news every night. We're all aware of the old newsroom mantra "If it bleeds, it leads" but the fact that the media is unwilling or unable to show the other side of post-war Iraq is an indictment on that institution. Dawn over Baghdad is a good effort at balancing out the public record.

In contemporary America, the media reports the bloody details to keep an American public glued to the TV with apprehension over Iraq and the WoT in general. The military can't do much to show the public it's side of the story either, it can't force reporters to go out and show the good news as well as the bad, and of course, for the most part the press refuse to do so.

Enter Karl Zinsmeister with his newly released book, Dawn over Baghdad. Those of us who have friends in Iraq may get a glimpse of the true picture in Iraq, the hardships our troops endure, and the difficult accomplishments they fulfill on a daily basis that pass unnoticed by the selective eye of the western media. However, for those that do not know where to blog or don't know anyone deployed in the military that can relay more balanced news regarding Iraq, this book is an important breath of fresh air.

It isn't particuarly long, nor is it particuarly deep. It is however, just enough detailed information about the positive side of the US military operations in Iraq to whet your appetite for more. US Brigade commanders dealing with Iraqi mullahs, patiently, and firmly, preventing outbreaks of jihadist violence when possible, yet skillfully handling such outbreaks when they are inevitable. Dealing with everyday people, trying to cajole the managers of state owned plants to start engaging in capitalism and to put their employees back to work. Dealing with chronic electrical outages, ironically due to the increasing demand for electricity due to new appliances even while capacity is higher than before Operation Iraqi Freedom took place. Senior US officers making sure that Iraqi women always have a representative voice in the forming government, even when the mullahs claim Iraqi women do not want one. So many tiny, fascinating sociological battles that our media is missing, simply to play up blood and carnage for the benefit of murderers and cutthroats who care about no one.

The writing is inspired and purposeful, but due to the time limits at any one point in the author's travels, his book doesn't dwell long an any given situation, and it certainly does not resolve anything he presents. The situation in Iraq is still developing, and it will for quite a few years. However, this book is an excellent insight into what we as a country are truly trying to do, and how well our troops are doing it. It is a life preserver of optimism in a sea of despair, which makes it much more valuable and critical right before the changeover to Iraq's sovereignty on June 30th, 2004. One can only hope the mainstream press takes notice and tries to set the record straight.