The Predictable NY Times: Camouflaging News Negative To Hussein’s Iraq Policy
(IBD)
Leave it to the New York Times to take a major story discrediting Barack Obama’s Iraq policy and pitch it as a human interest feature on “mixed feelings.”
After interviewing 18 Iraqis in Baghdad and elsewhere, no fewer than eight Times reporters found notable trepidation about Obama’s plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.
But those revelations were smothered in the headline, lead paragraph (which had an Iraqi general “melting into smiles” when asked about Obama) and the thrust of the front-page article.
Smiles aside, the Anbar Sunni officer who was interviewed, Gen. Nassir al-Hiti, commander of a predominantly Shiite unit in western Baghdad, had misgivings about Obama’s planned pullout.
“Very difficult,” he was quoted as saying. “Any army would love to work without any help, but let me be honest: For now, we don’t have that ability.” This from a general described last year by the U.S. military as “a lot more competent than most Iraqi officers.”
Al-Hiti then listed ways the U.S. military helps Iraqi forces maintain Iraq’s newfound freedoms. They include drone surveillance, evacuation of wounded Iraqi troops and defusing bombs.
Other Iraqis interviewed worried that Obama’s withdrawal plans “could lead to chaos in a nation already devastated by war,” as the Times described it. “Many Iraqis also acknowledge that security gains in recent months were achieved partly by the buildup of American troops” opposed by Obama and backed by rival John McCain.
One Baghdad businessman educated in the West said “it’s a very big assumption that just because (Obama) wants to pull troops out, he’ll be able to do it. . . . The American strategy in the region requires troops to remain in Iraq for a long time.”
An educator from south of Baghdad warned that “al-Qaida would rearrange itself and come back if the Americans withdraw,” and called the Obama pullout plan “just propaganda for an election.”
Other “well-educated Iraqis who have traveled abroad” even expressed support for a U.S. base in Iraq, which Obama opposes. “I have no problem to have a camp here,” a government official said. “I find it in Germany, and that’s a strong country. Why not in Iraq?”
These disclosures about Iraqis’ views were couched in a manner that stressed their supposed affection for Obama. Al-Hiti is quoted at the top of the piece saying Obama is “young” and “active.” We hear the businessman say that he “seems like a nice guy.” The government official waxes about Obama’s “Muslim roots,” and a Mosul engineer thinks a black president might empathize with Arabs.
But that wasn’t the story. Iraqis’ skepticism of Obama’s premature pullout was. Unfortunately, the Times doesn’t seem to know a good story even when a bunch of its own reporters come up with it.
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Well gee whiz, since he’s now an expert on foreign policy with his trip, I’ll join the majority of my age group and vote for him!
After all, we need “change” in the White House: someone who acts cool! 
July 19th, 2008 at 10:32 am“The government official waxes about Obama’s “Muslim roots,” and a Mosul engineer thinks a black president might empathize with Arabs.”
See… they’re alot like us.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:42 amYea I’ve been looking at this election. And to the point it scares the shit out of me. Obama’s publicly called for a civilian police [Gestapo], higher taxes, a pull out in Iraq, flip flops an key issues, has a Muslim Background, has associated personally with homegrown terrorists and black supremacists, his foreign advisor associates with Hizbollah, among countless other factors. And yet the Media portrays him as the second coming of Jesus Christ. After WWII we swore that there could never be another Hitler. I can’t help but see the similarities here. 1) Obama’s call for a well armed force to check the military 2) Socialistic views 3)Association with Racial Supremacists 4) Speeches [no one since Hitler has been able to get a crowd into such a frenzy.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:44 amIt is easy to see why B-Ho might consider a civilian military force….the US Military isn’t likely to wage war against the citizens and country it has sworn for product.
He already has a potential leader in Gen. Wes Clark who partook in the festivities at Waco.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:23 pmIt is easy to see why B-Ho might consider a civilian military force….the US Military isn’t likely to wage war against the citizens and country it has sworn for product.
He already has a potential leader in Gen. Wes Clark who partook in the festivities at Waco.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:23 pmThere’s that former CIA officer Michael Sheuer who has written books, was head of the bin Laden unit during Clinton. He always heavily criticizes Bush admin. Well, he said BO will be an admin. of appeasers. Said BO and eveyrone advises him are the Dem establishment–Albright, etc., appeasers. I guess you can’t please this guy Scheuer, but he has even less faith in BO than the Bush people he liked to burn all the time.
July 19th, 2008 at 7:06 pmAlso, the fact that BO just thinks he owns your wallet if you make over a certain amount. Hey, Barrack–this is America. YOu don’t hand over your wallet to the government. This isn’t Kenya or wherever you are from. Does he not get that if you are required to do that, you have no incentive to make more money, create more wealth, more capital, more jobs, more opportunity for others? What is so hard about understanding that? In California, people making over $100k pay 83% of the income taxes. 6000 people in California pay $9 billion in Cal. income taxes. What if they just left the state? What if they banded together and made demands? Oh, they used it–it used to be called the GOP. What happened? Dot com money got spread around in liberal hands? Of people that don’t know any better? That think money is easy come, because it was so easy to make so much of it with their dot coms?
July 19th, 2008 at 7:10 pm