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Ralph Peters is a regular columnist with the New
York Post.
Register here for access to the Post's Online Edition.
 No
War In The Streets
In Iraq...
[Ralph
Peters] 3/3/06
The reporting
out of Baghdad continues to be hysterical and dishonest. There
is no civil war in the streets. None. Period.
Terrorism,
yes. Civil war, no. Clear enough?
Tuesday,
I crisscrossed Baghdad, visiting communities on both banks
of the Tigris and logging at least 25 miles on the streets.
With the weekend curfew lifted, I saw traffic jams, booming
business — and everyday life in abundance.
Contributors
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Ralph
Peters is a retired Army officer and the author of 19 books,
as well as of hundreds of essays and articles, written both
under his own name and as Owen Parry. He is a frequent columnist
for the New York Post and other publications. [go to Peters Index] |
Yes, there
were bombings yesterday. The terrorists won't give up on their
dream of sectional strife, and know they can count on allies
in the media as long as they keep the images of carnage coming.
They'll keep on bombing. But Baghdad isn't London during the
Blitz, and certainly not New York on 9/11.
It's more
like a city suffering a minor, but deadly epidemic.
As in an epidemic, no one knows who will be stricken. Rich
or poor, soldier or civilian, Iraqi or foreigner. But life
goes on. No one's fleeing the Black Death — or the plague
of terror.
And the people
here have been impressed that their government reacted
effectively to last week's strife, that their soldiers
and police brought order to the streets. The transition is working.
Most Iraqis
want better government, better lives — and democracy.
It is contagious, after all. Come on over. Talk to
them. Watch them risk their lives every day to work with us
or with their government to build their own future.
Oh, the attacks
will continue. They're even predictable, if not always preventable.
Driving through Baghdad's Kerada Peninsula District, my humvee
passed long gas lines as people waited to fill their tanks
in the wake of the curfew. I commented to the officer giving
me a lift that the dense lines of cars and packed gas stations
offered great targets to the terrorists. An hour later, one
was hit with a car bomb.
The bombing
made headlines (and a news photographer just happened to
be on the scene). Here in Baghdad, it just made the average
Iraqis hate the terrorists even more.
You are being
lied to. By elements in the media determined that Iraq must
fail. Just give 'em the Bronx cheer. -one-
Ralph
Peters is in Iraq on assignment for The New York Post.
Ralph Peters'
latest book is New
Glory: Expanding America's Global Supremacy
This
piece first appeared in the New York Post
copyright 2006 - NY Post
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