Haider Ajina sends this latest good news from Iraq:
“Iraqi interior ministry confirms decline in terrorist actively and car bombs”.
The Iraqi interior ministry announced some changes to the current security operation (Together Forward). In areas of repeated killings, they plan to increase checkpoints. General Abdul Azizi Mohamed, director of operations in the ministry, announced this in a press conference yesterday, and he added that terrorist activities of last week have declined compared to the week before. This is a result of the current joint security operation carried out by both the defense and interior ministry’s forces, which are in their 13th day of implementation.
* Car bombs in Baghdad last week have declined to three down from twelve the week before.
* Other bombs have declined to nine from twenty-four.General Mohamed reaffirmed his full support for the new national reconciliation plan (a two part 28 point plan put forward by Prime–Minister Al-Maliki on the 25th.) to reduce national tension since most armed groups are connected to a political block. The goal of the PM’s plan is to sap the violence and end terrorist activity.
The current security plan is not limited by time and will be carried out until peace and security are achieved in Baghdad and surrounding areas’.
Haider comments:
The two prong approach (political negotiations & more security personnel) of the new Iraqi government is getting positive results. Speak softly and carry a big stick (famous Roosevelt policy) seems to be Al-Maliki’s approach. He has not been giving fiery speeches and calling for fighting; he has been talking about reconciliation and democratic negotiations. So far, four armed groups have expressed an interest in negotiations, through indirect contacts. This is the ‘speak softly’ part of the policy. Operation ‘Together forwards’ obviously is the ‘big stick’.
Only three out of eighteen provinces are experiencing terrorist violence, thus over 67% of the Iraqi people live in relatively peaceful areas. The three hot provinces are consuming most of the security resources and most of the media ink. The media obviously sees many more news worthy stories to tell in the three violent provinces than in the other Fifteen.
Before Saddam became president in the summer of 1979 Iraq had a highly educated public and a high literacy rate (higher than Italy at the time). Education up to high school level was mandatory for all Iraqis male or female. The government helped families who needed their children to work instead of study, so the children could go to school. Health care was good and available at minimal cost. Private medicine was also available. Low unemployment and rapid infrastructure development went hand in hand then. While Baathist rule before Saddam was brutal, fascist and dictatorial, it was tolerated due to improved heath care, education, infrastructure and Job creation. It was also not as brutal as Saddam’s rule. Once Saddam took over in summer of 1979, all these benefits and programs were scrapped or suspended to start a war with Iran and build Saddam’s infrastructure of violence, war and grand palaces.
Regards,
Haider Ajina
Update: (11:00 PM CST) Haider Ajina sends this latest update:
Since I translated this the number of armed groups expressing an interest in negotiations has gone from 4 to 11. I hope it is not a stall tactics on the armed groups part. From talking to my father in Najaf, the Iraqi street is in strong support of Al-Maliki and his policies so far.
Regards,
Haider
And… All Things Conservative confirms this positive news and notes the disgusting twist from the mainstream news.
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