Iraqi Foreign Minister: America, Please don’t Abandon us

Here is a letter from Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq’s foreign minister, that appeared in the New Hampshire Union Leader. This shows a side of the story that the media is all too reluctant to show.

Do I think everything is going great over there? No, but I think the media is almost criminal in the way that they are framing this war. There are many acts of bravery, courage, and victory that the media chooses to ignore.

Hoshyar Zebari writes in this piece how Iraqi’s are now able to go to the amusement park,play soccer, or just have a picnic. Things we take for granted but are a sign of real progress over there.

If President Bush had told us we were going into Iraq for these types of humanitarian issues the left would have no problem supporting the war, but because it’s for national defence we must get out. They want us out of Iraq, but in Darfur where there is no national defence issue but a humanitarian issue. Their logic is backward.

We remain determined in spite of our losses. Spectacular attacks may dominate foreign headlines, but they cannot change the reality that Iraq has made steady political, economic and social progress over the past four years. We continue to strengthen our nascent democratic institutions, pursue national reconciliation and expand Iraqi security forces. The Baghdad security plan was conceived to give us breathing space to expedite political and economic development by “securing and holding” neighborhoods across the capital. There is no quick fix, but there have been real results: Winning public confidence has led to a spike in intelligence, a disruption of terrorist networks and the capture of key leaders, as well as the discovery of weapons caches. In Anbar province, Sunni sheiks and insurgents have turned against al-Qaida and to the side of Iraqi security forces. This would have been unthinkable even six months ago.

I call on the American people to show the same resolve as Hoshyar Zebari.