Sunday, May 31, 2009

Forgetting Iraq

The United States' international focus has shifted to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Korea. In the meantime, Iraq has slowly faded from the nation's consciousness.

I love how killings in Iraq decrease somewhat and everyone thinks the campaign has been a success. When I say I "love" that, what I really mean is that "it makes me sick." Reportedly, 134 Iraqi civilians died in the month of May directly because of the war. In the last two months, 424 Iraqi civilians were reportedly killed. That's a success?! Only, relatively speaking.

The May 2009 total is the least since 2003. That low is still over 4 murdered Iraqis a day. Over the last two months, the number of murdered Iraqis a day is 7. In most places, that would be a catastrophe. It is more a measure of how horrific the war had become and less an indication of any real triumph.

Iraq's political system is still based on ethno-sectarian divisions, which is to say, it is far from a success. A lower, yet still intolerable, number of Iraqi civilian deaths doesn't represent a success either. Success in Iraq should not come cheap. We need to redefine what success means in Iraq. (International affairs)

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