Meanwhile, in Iraq

Via Patterico, Chrenkoff has the ninth installment of his Good News from Iraq. It's a long but worthwhile read, complete with numerous links to sources around the Middle East and at home. Here's one of his opening paragraphs:

"Experts might debate exactly how much water there is in the Iraqi glass, but there is little doubt that - yet again - while the cameras and microphones were pointing towards the carnage, violence and corruption, Iraq has continued its slow and steady march out of its three-decades long nightmare into a much more normal tomorrow. Below are some of the positive developments and good news stories of the past fortnight that for most part received very little media attention. It's a pity because the story of 'Iraq, the phoenix rising from the ashes' is in many ways a lot more interesting, not to say consequential, than the usual steady media diet of 'Iraq, the Wild East.'"

To back this up, he quotes from a recent editorial in the Arab News:

"[L]et us not begrudge Sadr's 15 minutes of fame... Students of journalism, however, know the difference between the events that furnish most of the daily headlines and the undercurrents that shape the broader context of a society's political life. Now what are the undercurrents that, with eyes fixed on the current events, are largely ignored?

"The most important is that post-liberation Iraq, defying great odds, has succeeded in carrying out its political reform agenda on schedule. A governing council was set up at the time promised. It in turn, created a provisional government right on schedule. Next, municipal elections were held in almost all parts of the country. Then followed the drafting of a new democratic and pluralist constitution. Then came the formal end of the occupation and the appointing of a new interim government.

"Earlier this month, the political reconstruction program reached a new high point with the convening of the National Congress."

He closes with this from a young native of Baghdad now at Dartmouth (from the Boston Globe, but the link is now archived):

"Next time you have a drink, make sure you invite Barakat Jassem for a glass of water. Jassem, a native of Baghdad and a one of 18 children, has been until recently working as an English translator for Iraqi TV. Once, when working on a Bette Davis movie, 'The Virgin Queen,' a mistake he made had angered Uday Hussein so much that Jassem was thrown into jail for 30 days. Jassem is now studying at Dartmouth College under the newly reinstated Fulbright program. He has this to say:

"'I see the Americans working hard day and night to establish the basic needs for the Iraqi people... I think people (in America) are divided because it's a war. War is always a bad idea. [But] I want to emphasize this point. For me, it was 100 percent a liberation. There's nothing worse than a dictator.'
It often happens that the people who have been thirsty for a long time can tell you the most about water.'"