The Other Iraq

From the news, you'd assume that everyone in Iraq who isn't already dead will be, and soon. And not just from reporters standing safely in front of the White House, but from opportunistic politicians (a redundant phrase, I know) like the lamentable Chuck Hagel and the despicable Ted Kennedy. Their hysterics reminds me of a quip by, of all people, Ted Turner. At the University of Georgia in the early 1980s, he recounted a recent trip to Europe, made amid constant reports of terrorist acts on the Continent: "Hell, I thought I was going to see terrorists everywhere. I expected to be met at the airport by terrorists."

That's not to downplay to horrible violence occurring in Iraq, much less the global problem of terrorism. But it is to remember that all events, even murder, must be kept in historical perspective. The goals of the terrorists (Michael Moore's "Minutemen") is clear: drive out American troops by turning the American public against the war. As a WSJ editorial linked to above explains, the Hagels and Kennedys of America have willingly, and perversely, taken the bait. So, of course, has Dick Durban. All of them can count on the full support of MSM, but not because the latter do their job of reporting bad news. No, it's because the media has polished their image as an ambulance chasing hoard happy to see this President, whom they loathe, tarnished, even at the expense of many lives.

This morning, Arthur Chrenkoff has posted another of his invaluable reports on the other side of life in Iraq, and what a report it is. Good News from Iraq, Part 30, is indeed thick with reports you're likely to miss if you rely on MSM. Beyond that, however, it's a morality tale of bravery in the face of death, and persistence in the face of the cynicism and opportunism of Western elites such as Chuck Hagel.

Who'd you rather rely on in a crunch: Hagel or Kennedy, or Karim Wasfi, a cellist with the Bagdhad Symphony (and kudos to NBC for reporting this story). Wasfi studied music at Indiana University's famed School of Music, but rather than remain in the States, he returned home after Saddam's overthrow: "'The message is that we are stronger than the situation,' he says."

Or perhaps you hadn't heard that American troops are not, in fact, the thugs and torturers of Durbanville, but are helping to rebuild civil aviation, construct roads long neglected, get the electricity and clean water going again, and rebuild schools.

Arthur's good news reports aren't saccharine; they're not filled with pro-Western propaganda designed to paper over the bloodshed wrought by terrorists in that long-ravaged country. But they do serve to fill in the gapping holes left by big media's relentless pursuit of only one side of the story. And they prove, beyond a doubt, that civil society is indeed taking hold in Iraq, and that the ravages of Saddam's rule are being repaired in the face of continuing violence.

Update: Betsy Newmark links to, and comments on, a profile of Chuck Hagel in The Australian. As the Aussies say: "A liberal in Republican's clothing."

Update II: Karl Zinsmeister, just back from Iraq, also takes issue with the "all the news is bad" crowd.

Update III: The Anchoress says a beautiful prayer for our military people abroad. It's an extraordinary meditation on sacrifice, truth, evil, and much more.