Iraq's Prospects Seem As Grim As Its Recent Past

Iraq's Prospects Seem As Grim As Its Recent Past
by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro
July 7, 2010

On the Fourth of July, Vice President Joe Biden presided in Iraq over a naturalization ceremony for U.S. service members. It has become a yearly ritual and a touching one. More than 150 men and women serving in the armed forces became U.S. citizens, to the ecstatic applause of their comrades in arms.

The setting was opulent al-Faw Palace, where most U.S. military events are held. Its soaring marble rotunda is crowned by one of the biggest chandeliers in the world. Surrounding al-Faw are the man-made lakes and bridges that Saddam Hussein built for himself and his family as a private reserve.

Since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, this is the nerve center of the American military in Iraq, and one of the most secure locations in the country, requiring a military escort simply to move around.

In his speech to the assembled troops, Biden said that the fact that an American citizenship ceremony was being held there was a sign of the democracy America's war had brought to Iraq.

If you walk out the palace doors, and onto the hot dusty streets like I and many of my colleagues do everyday, you'll meet Iraqis who are worried about what comes next.




unhappycamper comment: Have some American Democracy, suckers:

I recall that the joke was that the missile impact was actually the sound of thousands of thrown flowers hitting at once...

Though, Predator drones have been used in Iraq since 2008. So, the image is still applicable.

Still don't.

But I want to see the Iraqis self-determined, free and at peace with each other and their neighbors once we leave.