Don`t bother too much with Mon Q, guys.
The sorry thing, he`s quite representative of the majority of people living in Quebec (or at least, what they allow to be printed in the press). Anti-American sentiment is quite strong in Quebec. Just remind yourself the booing of the US National Anthem at sports events, for starters.
When you can`t be for something, you have to be against something. Guess who? The next neighbor, the USA.
Absolutely no respect for their biggest economic partner. Sad.
Sack-Depends. In some cases, you may be dealing with a leader who has lost the authority and respect of his men for whatever reason, or you can have a bunch of apathetic people who could care less, and will question everything. People, this sentiment is nothing new, it’s just better organized and publicized now. Internet groups and world wide satellite feeds weren’t around after WWII when American troops stationed overseas were staging “We wanna go home” riots.
I was merely stating that I thought it was ok to question to SOME degree. And by that I mean privately, and not bitch on national TV.
On the same token, I don’t think that the soldiers should be robots.
During WW2, the soldiers were instructed to committ genocide and they (or so it seems) followed without questions.
I hope that today’s soldier, if presented with the same orders, would question them.
“The sorry thing, he`s quite representative of the majority of people living in Quebec (or at least, what they allow to be printed in the press).”
Thanks to our totally unregulated mas media, CanWest Global owns both national newspapers (National Post and Globe & Mail), at least a dozen other major ones & 2 televisions stations & it’s all the most conservative & extreme continentalist (ie “help our friends” propaganda) media in the country, so no, the media says the opposite of what you’re saying.
“Anti-American sentiment is quite strong in Quebec. Just remind yourself the booing of the US National Anthem at sports events, for starters.”
As for what people think in Quebec there’s definitely a moral justification for it, a digression I could go into more if you want.
MON Q:
Thanks to our totally unregulated mas media, CanWest Global owns both national newspapers (National Post and Globe & Mail), at least a dozen other major ones & 2 televisions stations & it’s all the most conservative & extreme continentalist (ie “help our friends” propaganda) media in the country, so no, the media says the opposite of what you’re saying.</font color>
I beg to differ. IMHO, you only make reference to Anglo Press & TV. What I meant is the classic Quebec biased content. Truly Quebec representative is the Videotron/Quebecor interconnected empire like TVA and all of their publications. I also included french prints like Journal de Montreal/Quebec (rags), La Presse, Le Journal de Quebec, etc.
Im talking about some dumbass paper who, on september 12th, allowed the printing of: <i>Americans got what they deserved, and people polled think the same thing.</i> When your media allow this type of print, it goes to say there is demand (culture) for it. It also speaks volumes about what those in power (at the paper, if not nationally) think of their neighbors. Yeah, the same type who sneer back at you when you walk with an American flag pin. And they are many. Makes one wonder why Americans didnt righteously fire back yet. But theyll do it, economically. Best answer when you dont get respected: change the terms.
All those media score big time points in Quebec because they are in french and most Quebecers dont (READ:CANT) read them. So, you probably cant count all the Globe & Mail, Financial Post, Gazette and similars as alternatives, for the average Quebecer cant even understand the printed language.
As for what people think in Quebec there’s definitely a moral justification for it, a digression I could go into more if you want.</font color>
Yeah, you could go on if you want to. I predict it will be a classic Its their fault, not ours` answer, though, not some differenced based on strength and liberty. Based on the answers you gave, which was essentially finger-pointing towards anglophone press and media, and not mentionning any Quebec examples at all, you gave a nice example straight there. Yawn.
This is stupid. You’re going to find dissent among some in any organization, with any mission. The military is no exception, especially when some of those enlisted had no intention of ever going to war at the time they signed up (makes you think twice about taking your chances with that sort of thing if you’re not serious). By and large though, there is not a morale problem amongst the U.S. forces.
And, we’re making progress. Check out the two articles below.
September 26, 2003 – MY friends and family back in the states are frustrated because every time Najaf - the city in southern Iraq where my unit has been stationed - is in the news, the reports are of conflict between the U.S. forces and armed militias. To hear the media tell it, America has done nothing to improve the infrastructure or security, and the Iraqi public is volatile and seeking revenge.
This is not the Najaf I know. Here’s the story lived by those who have worked hand-in-hand with the locals since the end of combat operations: the U.S. Marines.
From the day it was given sole responsibility for the area, First Battalion, Seventh Marines (1/7) worked with the local governing council and religious leaders. Knowing the customs, culture and religion was crucial to the success of peacekeeping here in the Shia heartland.
Governed by 1/7 battalion commanders Lt. Col. Chris Conlin and (after Aug. 26) Lt. Col. Chris Woodbridge, Najaf quickly recovered from the war. It began repairing infrastructure that Saddam Hussein had neglected for decades.
Major projects for the unit included bringing the power plant up to optimal performance, ensuring local law enforcement was trained and equipped, repairing and reopening many schools and providing supplies and desks for the eager students.
None of that made the news back home. But on Aug. 29, a giant explosion broke the peace here. It came just outside the Imam Ali Shrine, the country’s most holy site, just after Friday prayers.
The death toll was estimated at 85 to 120. Chief among the victims was Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Hakim - a top, moderate Shia cleric. Respected by both senior clerics and regular citizens, Hakim had asked all Iraqis to be patient and cooperate with the coalition during reconstruction.
This tragedy was a true test of what the Marines had accomplished. Would the people of Najaf remember all the months of cooperation and rebuilding, or shout anger and discontent to the world?
The test got harder: Two armed militias soon showed up: the Badr Brigades (the armed faction of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) and followers of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr. Each began patrolling Najaf’s streets and setting up vehicle checkpoints.
Those scenes made TV screens and headlines around the world. All reports shared one thing in common: Najaf was in chaos.
Not true. Not one violent act or anti-American demonstration occurred in the wake of the bombing. Quite the opposite: Mourners just outside the Imam Ali Mosque cheered when two suspects in the bombing were handed over to coalition forces.
Two days after the murder, a funeral procession took Hakim’s body to its final resting place and broke up. Mourners from other cities shuffled to their taxis and buses and went home. The citizens of Najaf went quietly to bed.
But security at the holy sites had become a priority. Religious leaders still didn’t want non-Muslims at the holy grounds, but militias were not an acceptable solution. The answer was already in the works: A special branch of the Najaf Police Department would be dedicated to protecting the sites and religious leaders.
This force had first been proposed in meetings between representatives of the Coalition Provisional Authority and religious authorities in Najaf only days before the bombing. The need for it was now undeniable.
Dubbed the Shrine Police, this 400-strong force came from the ranks of the Najaf police. Already armed and uniformed, they only needed a special three-day course - e.g., training in setting up vehicle checkpoints to search for explosives and unauthorized weapons - before taking on their new duties.
Instead of competing cleric-led armies, a nonpartisan, fully trained and equipped professional police force was soon providing security in the shrines.
Naturally, the attack on Iraq’s holiest site, and the horrible murder of one of their leaders, greatly disturbed the locals: The 1/7 Marines did a survey a few days after the tragedy, and found that only 43 percent of those surveyed felt safe and secure in Najaf.
But in a survey just a week later, 72 percent felt safe and secure, while 86 percent felt that Najaf was doing better than neighboring provinces.
The surveys also gauged our performance: In the earlier one, only 53 percent thought the coalition was doing a good job in Najaf. But in the later one, 61 percent felt the coalition was doing a good job and 75 percent believed it was doing all it could to make things better.
Are the people of Najaf angry? Yes. Do they want to avenge Hakim’s death? Yes. Do they believe the coalition has failed and their city is in chaos, destined for conflict? Not at all.
The 1/7 is now leaving Najaf, having handed off responsibility to a Latin American brigade composed of forces from Honduras and El Salvador.
The Marines leave knowing that they not only helped liberate Iraq, but also made a vital contribution to building the country’s democratic and peaceful future.
First Lt. Eric Knapp is stationed with the 1st Marine Division in Iraq.
E-mail: knapp_eric@earthlink.net
Where to Find Good News
The big story in Iraq is the little stories.
BY DANIEL HENNINGER
Friday, September 26, 2003 12:01 a.m. EDT
Some 64% of Americans stand firm in support of President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, according to The Wall Street Journal/NBC poll just out. That makes sense. But 51% now oppose Mr. Bush’s request for $87 billion to rebuild Iraq. That makes sense, too. What evidence of progress in Iraq have the American people been given to sign another check?
If the people e-mailing and calling this office about Iraq at all mirror these poll numbers, they suggest that many Americans think the situation there can’t be as bad as they are reading or seeing on TV but are confused about just what is going on there. Is Iraq as anarchic and homicidal as they’ve been given to believe the past 12 weeks? Or is something else happening in Iraq as well, something that would justify the moral and financial commitment the U.S. is making to win this war?
More of the media should embed themselves with the Iraqi people outside the Sunni Triangle, rather than inside the Baghdad bunker. But don’t blame the media alone for not telling the full postwar story in Iraq. The administration’s information effort so far has been poor. On Aug. 8 the White House released a “100 Days” progress report, but there’s been little since. This is a shame, because if one makes the effort to dig for news beyond the front-page war deaths, it is hard to escape the conclusion that Baghdad’s bad-news tail is wagging the entire Iraqi dog.
The Sunni Triangle in central Iraq–which runs west from Baghdad to Fallujah and Ramadi, north to Tikrit and back down to Baghdad–is beset with diehard Baathists, contract killers and in-migrating jihadists. Out beyond the Baghdad hellhole, however, what one finds is Dodge City after Wyatt Earp cleaned it up. That is, most of Iraq’s 26 million people are trying to behave like citizens of a civilized nation, a large change that inevitably reveals itself as the effort to form up Edmund Burke’s “little platoons.”
“Basrah Moves Towards Religious Stability,” reports Ahmed Mukhtar for Iraq Today, a new and useful source of information about the rebuilding–online at www.iraq-today.com, in English. Though the “former regime” tried to foment sectarian conflict in Basra, today Sunni, Shiite and Shakhi Muslims and Christians and Sabeans are trying to create joint self-help societies in the city of 1.4 million. “We regarded ourselves as original Iraqi residents,” the Chaldean Christian leader Archbishop Gabriel T. Kassab told Iraq Today. “We had one destiny.”
From Najaf, Sarmad S. Ali reports that “Security Efforts Target Foreigners,” the “foreigners” being Iranian and Saudi infiltrators. But he also describes the rebuilding of the holy shrine of Imam Ali, which took a hit during a recent bomb attack. The marble work “is being done by Iranian workers who have come from the same quarries where the marble was made.” Iraq’s Olympic weightlifters, formerly fodder for Uday’s amusements, have been invited to a training camp in the U.S.
Even from bloody Baghdad one reads that the Court of First Instance, the Iraqi civil court, is creating procedures to resolve disputes over debts, landlord problems and property confiscated during “the former regime.”
But this is news written by Iraqis, who may tend toward hopefulness. Let us turn to a recent, underpublicized report from the U.S. National Democratic Institute, which sent an assessment mission to Iraq this summer (www.ndi.org). NDI’s chairman is Madeleine Albright and its advisory committee includes Richard (“miserable failure”) Gephardt.
The report’s first sentence: “NDI’s overwhelming finding–in the north, south, Baghdad and among secular, religious, Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish groups in both urban and rural areas–is a grateful welcoming of the demise of Saddam’s regime and a sense that this is a pivotal moment in Iraq’s history.”
Touring the southern cities of Basra, Nassiriya and Aamara, NDI found, “Despite all of the obstacles, virtually every individual and group NDI met with in southern Iraq perceived this as a time of opportunity. . . . Iraqi citizens in the south demonstrated a hunger for information about the functioning of democracy.” In the Kurdish-controlled north, NDI saw “clear evidence of a developing economy, relative security and prosperity and an active civil society and culture. . . . Local municipal councils are active and appear to be working.”
The institute’s advance delegation called Iraq “fertile ground for democracy promotion initiatives on a scale not seen since the heady days of the fall of the Berlin Wall.” Sounds like a good story.
An American officer who worked on reconstruction in Mosul, well north of Baghdad, told me of meeting with young Muslawi lawyers who now want help forming a Mosul bar association and developing a modern system of defendants’ rights. The Americans who lectured at the university in Mosul generally spoke in English because so many Iraqi professors speak English. The successes in Mosul, with two million people, are now being taken to smaller towns in the Nineveh province, generally with around 40,000 people.
About 10 days ago, some 140 delegates from eight districts in Salah-ad-Din province chose an interim governing council. The new council’s members include a Shia woman from Bayji, tribal sheiks from Dujayl, religious leaders from Samarra and Kurdish and Turkmen members from Tuz. They of course posed afterward for group photographs.
Paul Bremer’s Baghdad office is now, at last, assembling this information. In a world with an infinity of Web sites, the U.S. government should be able to create just one dedicated to this great story. The U.S. Central Command has a decent one at www.centcom.mil. If the press wants to debunk them, feel free; better that than nothing. The little stories of Iraq’s rebuilding may not make the front page, but I know a lot of people who would like to read them, no matter where they appear.
Mr. Henninger is deputy editor of The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page. His column appears Fridays in the Journal and on OpinionJournal.com.