McClatchy has several Iraqis who work at McClatchy's Baghdad bureau. They work as reporters, translators, and drivers. Several of them contribute to a blog at McClatchy's Iraq web site.
Today one of the anonymous bloggers lets loose on the US, begging voters to elect a presidential candidate who will end the "Iraqi-American bloodshed." You can read the entire post here. Speaking to the American voter, the McClatchy reporter says this:
"We hope you will choose who will work to stop the Iraqi-American bloodshed for the mothers’ sake..."
Does this anonymous "reporter" read his own McClatchy news? Here is McClatchy's article on the latest suicide bombing in Iraq. The attacker killed four people and injured 23. The suicide bomber was an associate of Al Qaeda. Presumably he was Iraqi. The victims were all Iraqis. No Americans were killed. So it wasn't "Iraqi-American bloodshed," it was “Iraqi-Iraqi bloodshed” which is what the US is trying to address.
And here's more "Iraqi-Iraqi bloodshed" from New Years Day. Again, the suicide bomber was Iraqi. The victims were Iraqis. No Americans were killed, which makes it “Iraqi-Iraqi violence."
Two thoughts. Does this "reporter" realize the violence in Iraq is going in the right direction? The facts are out there for everyone to see. Violence in Iraq dropped significantly over the last months of 2007. And if the surge is reducing violence - and it is - we should continue the surge until Iraq is free of Al Qaeda.
Oh, and about the 2008 presidential election, I'm with AJ Strata: we need to elect leaders who will not abandon Iraq to the suicide bombers, the head-choppers, or the future Bhutto-style assassins.
