What's really going on in Iraq...

A very good friend of mine tells me that he recieved this e-mail from a friend in Iraq -- his friend sent this out to everyone on his e-mail list.



Subject: Letter on what's happening in Baghdad


As I head off to Baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I wanted
to
say thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a
very poor job of covering everything that has happened. I am sorry that I
have not been able to visit all of you during my two week leave back home.
And just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq
that is noteworthy, I thought I would pass this on to you. This is
the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently: (Please share it
with
your friends and compare it to the version that your paper is producing)

-Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever
in Iraq.
-Over 400,000 kids have up to date immunizations.
-Over 1500 schools have been renovated and ridded of the weapons that were
stored there so education can occur.
-The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off loaded from ships
faster.
-School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
-The country had it's first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
-The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the
war
-100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed compared to 35% before
the
war.
-Elections are taking place in every major city and city councils are in
place.
-Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
-Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
-Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
-Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with
US
soldiers.
-Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
-Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to
prevent
the spread of germs.
-An interim constitution has been signed.
-Girls are allowed to attend school for the first time ever in Iraq.
-Text books that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first
time
in 30 years.


Don't believe for one second that these people do not want us there. I
have
met many many people from Iraq that want us there and in a bad way. They
say
they will never see the freedoms we talk about but they hope their
children
will. We are doing a good job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to
dispute me on these facts. So If you happen to run into John Kerry, be
sure
to give him my email address and send him to Denison, Iowa. This soldier
will set him straight. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this
period of rebuilding has been portrayed, email this to a friend and let
them
know there are good things happening.

Ray Reynolds, SFC
Iowa Army National Guard
234th Signal Battalion

So all this uprising is just an act? i dont doubt some iraqis are happy with the USA's inteference, but most probably would have rathered someone they hated less be the ones who toppled saddamn

I have read similar "good news" reports from Iraq and also did a check up on this report online and found a couple of examinations of the email.

This site attempts to figure out whether the statements are as they put them: truth, fiction, or unproven.

www.truthorfiction.com...

Using Google groups, I found a fairly angry rebuttal, but I am not going to go about examining the claims made. Read it yerself.

Google groups link

Despite any of this, the statement made that Iraq's history is being rewritten by having Saddam removed from all textbooks is a disturbing reminder that the victors write history. Children living in Iraq should be able to be told their country's troubled history without it being removed by whomever is currently in charge.

Ever growing violence, which has caused more coalition forces deaths in a single month (April 2004, which isn't even over yet as of the time I type this) than since the start of the hostilities also makes me wonder about any claims of security.

As for elections, I would love to see real democractic elections of officials in Iraq that the people chose to vote for, but that isn't ever gonna happen. Sure there will be elections, but it will be for a puppet government for the Iraqis.

[Edited on 27-4-2004 by heelstone]

There's a pretty good riposte to this message at
www.orwelliantimes.com...

I sure don't think the right wing media would make stuff up about bombs and insurgencies in Iraq.

Perhaps you should be questioning the media's US casualty count instead of swallowing this guff.

What a joke, he make one big mistake, Iraqi women are the most educated in the Arab world, they have always been free compared to other Arab countries.

Before the Irak-Iran war, Iraq was a very well developed country.

And of course it's easy to pick a couple of things and publish them to look like good news. However if you put both good things and bad things together and you'll get a different picture.

Simply hilarious the amount of people trying to prevent or 'crush' any type "good" news out of Iraq. Keep up the good work people. You should most certainly be applauded for it!

Gee....I wonder if there is a site that "attempts to figure out whether the statements are as they put them: truth, fiction, or unproven" on all those "bad", "lets tell it like it is" e-mails that have come out of Iraq, huh? You know, some of them have been posted on this site and I didn't see any of you trying to rebut them! Simply hilarious, if not down right hypocritical to say the least.

Keep up the "good" work.



seekerof

[Edited on 27-4-2004 by Seekerof]

That E-mail is pretty old, I remember seeing it posted here months ago. Besides that some of the info is obviously false, for example:-

-Girls are allowed to attend school for the first time ever in Iraq.

Historically, Iraqi women and girls have enjoyed relatively more rights than many of their counterparts in the Middle East. The Iraqi Provisional Constitution (drafted in 1970) formally guaranteed equal rights to women and other laws specifically ensured their right to vote, attend school, run for political office, and own property. Yet, since the 1991 Gulf War, the position of women within Iraqi society has deteriorated rapidly. Women and girls were disproportionately affected by the economic consequences of the U.N. sanctions, and lacked access to food, health care, and education. These effects were compounded by changes in the law that restricted women's mobility and access to the formal sector in an effort to ensure jobs to men and appease conservative religious and tribal groups.

www.hrw.org...

The water, electricity, and hospital ones are others that immediately stand out as being either false or exaggerated, especially at the time it was written. A case of denying ignorance I think; It's obviously propaganda. Not to say that it doesn't contain any truth at all though.

I believe that the good lettlers from iraq are just propaganda, how about the death soldiers arriving in USA are does just empty cofins, really it does not adds. And yes before USA put an embargo on iraq, iraq was consider one of the must prosperous countries in the middle east, also the bagdad university was one of the best in the area and womas did have the fredom of getting and education and they account for must of the working force in the cities, thanks to US they have no jobs and is no more university very soon it will be rule by islam and womens will be kill just because their sandals make to much noise and their husband don, t like that just like in afghanistan ( thanks US for the freedom)

And just where the hell is this guy getting all these stats? From the military??? Or has he personally gone around and taken a poll? *cough* Bull#! *cough*

That email has been circulated by republican spin doctors.

www.idgop.org...

Do a google search. It's all over the internet, just like most email hoaxes and rumors. Remember, the election approaches. When that many people get the same email, we have a word for it....SPAM.

Here's something I found. Apparently, there's been no confirmation of any Ray Reynolds who is serving in Iraq. That seems like it would be the easiest thing to verify, doesn't it? However, some of those things are apparently true.

www.truthorfiction.com...

(Oops! Hadn't noticed heelstone already got this one!)

Also, it seems there have been quite a few of these bright, but phony letters written. Some soldiers aren't too happy about having their names attached to them.

www.npr.org...

[Edited on 4-27-2004 by Satyr]

Originally posted by SeekerofKeep up the good work people. You should most certainly be applauded for it!

Thanks! Though I haven't noticed any U2Us telling me I've been applauded yet.

You know, some of them have been posted on this site and I didn't see any of you trying to rebut them! Simply hilarious, if not down right hypocritical to say the least.

Its pretty hard to rebut stuff like this because for the most part, anti-war opinions on this site come from outside Iraq where we don't know the deal and require other people to tell us what is going on. Its only now that I've even seen some information that is the opposite of what these types of posts say with regards to infrastructure rebuilding and the situation with security.

Keep up the "good" work.

You said that above, but you don't have to tell us that. I'm sure you'll be reading a lot more such replies from us in the following months.

may be that may have been the truth a few months ago in bagdad alone. Has somebody done a more recent one? the last I saw on the news was a shortage of gasoline and the terrorist taking over schools to use as headquaters, how about the destruction of the cities, we the tax payer will be paying the bill.

I haven't read this, but these updates are released regularly, supposedly. If you believe what they report, then this might be your best source.

www.usaid.gov...

BTW, here's another similar letter...

www.snopes.com...

An Iraqi citizen whose response to this piece was published on the Voices in the Wilderness web site maintains that some of the information presented is true, but much of it is inaccurate or misleading.

A better feeling of how Iraq feels might be drawn from reading what an actual Iraqi has to say about some of these claims.

vitw.us...

"Don't believe everything you read", is still a wise philosophy.

www.theolympian.com...

[Edited on 4-27-2004 by Satyr]

Eh, heelstone....you get that u2u?

As to your other comments....simply typical response....nothing new, right?


seekerof

Originally posted by Seekerof
Eh, heelstone....you get that u2u?

As to your other comments....simply typical response....nothing new, right?

seekerof

Thanks for the applause!

And yeah, typical response with nuttin new.

Keep up the good work!

Someone already posted this excellent article ACCURATELY and HISTORICALLY de-bunking this load of propaganda.

www.orwelliantimes.com...

Read it, he uses FACTS.

I think both sides of this fence suck, Alot of people spend so much time and energy "sticking up" for there side to forget We are all on the Same side!!

Fact:
THere are good things going on in IRAQ.
We do not hear about them.

Fact:
THere are bad things happeing in IRAQ, we know ALL OF THEM they are on the News 24/7

I would hope you would all agree we need a Better Picture of what is going on. I'm sure alot of people here, Right or Left have seen "Bowling for Columbine" I think this is a great example of the Media only showing blood and gore because it is better news.

There are alot of or Sons/Daughters/Friends and Relatives that are giving the lives for what they think is a good cause.

We need a better way to see the Full Picture

Also going to the truth or fiction site, it seems that the Majority of the stuff in the letter is true, but people only see that fact that women have enjoyed, Yadda Yadda Yadda and even that is only half truth.

First off I do not like Bush, I think the big Oil stuff and the rest of the Bush Sr. Staff are pretty Money Hungry guys. I will not vote for him and personaly think he is an Idiot.

That being said my hatred for him does not blind me to truth. IF you deny Ignorance, then just look at the facts.

There Are good things going on in IRAQ, there are awful things going on in Iraq, which ones do we hear about?

So whats the Real conspiarcy.

The People doing the reporting

Originally posted by ShiftTrio

There are alot of or Sons/Daughters/Friends and Relatives that are giving the lives for what they think is a good cause.

We need a better way to see the Full Picture

Well said

Originally posted by ShiftTrio
So whats the Real conspiarcy.

The People doing the reporting

Exactly! If you can call it reporting. Most of it is about as factual as that email, and tells just enough info (bad or good) to support the message they want to convey, or believe in. I get so sick and tired of these assholes using half truths and half lies to further their cause, whatever the hell it is. It's not media or research in most cases, it's programming. One thing I know for sure, people are much less resistant to being programmed not to see the ugly side of life. Look how many people want so badly to prove that

A) Iraq is evil, they hate us, and they're Al Qaeda
or
B) We're helping them become better people

Of course, those that subscribe to A always seem to be the same who subscribe to B. These people are evil and they hate us, but look how much we're helping them! They really want us to interfere. That's why they want to kill us all the time.

Poor confused idiots....look what the media has done to them!