Richard WarnickMalkin in Baghdad
Michelle Malkin’s first blog post from Iraq consists mostly of pictures taken on a relief run to some refugees in Baghdad. She is embedded with some Army civil affairs unit. That’s all for now. Despite her sharp criticism of Associated Press (AP) reporters who risk their lives to tell the story of the Iraq occupation, Malkin won’t report anything specific until she’s safely back in the USA. Apparently they delivered blankets to some people in a rundown but unnamed section of Baghdad. And gave the kids American flags. How did these people lose their homes? Is the US Army the only organization willing and able to bring them blankets? The AP might know.
Yes, there is danger and chaos and unspeakable bloodshed in parts of Baghdad. Sectarian violence–compounded by everyday street crime and tribal conflict–is rampant. Corruption, incompetence, and apathy infect the Iraqi government. You’ve gotten endless news coverage of all that. But there are also pockets of success and signs of hope amid utter despair. I’ll give you more details of our embed unit after we get home. We have much to report and will be publishing a multi-part video and audio series, blog posts, and op-eds on security conditions, media malpractice, and the big picture on the war next week. Having met, watched, and interviewed a broad cross-section of our troops during our brief but fruitful travels, my faith in the U.S. military has never been stronger– but I will not sugarcoat my skepticism and doubts about decisions being made in Washington.
Pockets of success? In other words, look for a few anecdotes that sound good and we can pretend the Iraqi civil war isn’t happening. Malkin quoted one guy who was getting blankets for his family as saying he didn’t want the Americans to go. Or maybe he said go, but give us the blankets first?
For background on this, check out the OneUtah Michelle Malkin archive.