[Marxism] Blatant AP Bias in Iraq Article

["M. Junaid Alam" <mjunaidalam@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Associated Press "associated" with whom exactly? Look at the first line
in this AP piece, which I found at LA Times here:

(http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top11mar26,0,3258815,print.story)

" BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents continued efforts to thwart political
progress by blowing up a car Saturday near a U.S. military patrol in
Baghdad, killing two American soldiers and wounding two others."

Thwart political progress? That is too much! Who the hell is progressing
exactly? Speaks for itself, really.

And then this line:

"Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., praised Allawi during the visit, saying he
has helped build the base for Iraq's budding democracy."

What a rosy characterization, literally, as a "budding democracy", which
is assumed out of nowhere and not attributed to anybody, simply the
author's opinion. Then in another part the elections are described as
"historic elections." Straight from a Bush speech, you'd think.

All this nonsense is almost comical when you take a look at the actual
*news* presented in the piece: 2 soldiers killed, 2 soldiers hurt, slow
pace of government formation, massive attempted prison break, where US
killed 4 detainees 2 months ago.

Full piece:


 2 U.S. Soldiers Killed, 2 Hurt in Baghdad

By TRACI CARL
Associated Press Writer

7:02 PM PST, March 26, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents continued efforts to thwart political
progress by blowing up a car Saturday near a U.S. military patrol in
Baghdad, killing two American soldiers and wounding two others. A day
earlier, the military said, a U.S. Marine died in action in Anbar
province, the insurgent heartland stretching from west of Baghdad to the
Jordanian and Syrian borders.

Meanwhile, the Shiite Muslim politician likely to be Iraq's next prime
minister said Saturday that the country's long-awaited government could
be formed within days, an accomplishment that would mark the end of
nearly two months of tortured negotiations after the nation's first free
elections in a half-century.

Iraqi politicians, however, have been reporting for at least a month
that they were near a deal.

More than 1,520 members of the U.S. military have been killed in Iraq
since the U.S.-led invasion, according to an Associated Press count.

Saturday's deaths came as six members of the U.S. congress met with
representatives of Iraq's current and future government, on a mission to
assess progress toward building a new political and security apparatus
that would allow an eventual U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the likely next prime minister, said he believed an
agreement on the government was imminent.

"God willing, the government could witness its birth in the coming few
days," he said.

Members of the country's new 275-member National Assembly, chosen in
historic elections Jan. 30, were sworn in during the parliament's
first-ever session March 16. But officials have repeatedly postponed a
second session as desultory talks have dragged on over the division of
top Cabinet posts among Iraq's religious and ethnic groups.

Jawad al-Maliki, a negotiator from the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance,
said members of parliament have agreed to meet Tuesday, but it was
unclear if they would choose a president -- expected to be Kurdish
leader Jalal Talabani.

Al-Jaafari cautioned against rushing the process, saying: "We need to
remember that the era of democratic dialogue is different from the era
of the dictatorship practices."

"There are various groups, and we're keen that the process of forming
the government be quick," he told reporters. "But we're also keen that
this birth has all the requirements needed for success."

There are increasing signs of frustration among the Iraqi people over
the slow pace of progress.

One topic that has held up negotiations has been an effort to include
Sunni Arabs, the minority that held power under Saddam Hussein, in the
Cabinet, al-Jaafari said. Sunnis largely boycotted the Jan. 30
elections, and they are believed to make up the backbone of the insurgency.

"We think that the exceptional circumstances that preceded the elections
stood in the way of the full participation of our Sunni Arab brothers,"
al-Jaafari said, who met with members of the U.S. delegation, as did
interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., praised Allawi during the visit, saying he
has helped build the base for Iraq's budding democracy.

"There were many doubters," he said. "But obviously Mr. Allawi was not
of these doubters, and he is one who was able to portend the future, and
he did so with great success."

Also Saturday, a senior Iraqi Defense Ministry official said Iraqi
troops backed by U.S. forces detained 121 suspected insurgents and
uncovered a massive weapons cache during a joint raid near Musayyib, 40
miles south of Baghdad.

The official said the operation turned up hundreds of Kalashnikov rifles
and rocket-propelled grenades, as well as car bombs, machine guns,
rockets, mortar rounds and other munitions.

Some of the suspected guerrillas planned to attack Shiite Muslims who
will be heading to an annual religious celebration in the nearby city of
Karbala, the official said.

Later, the U.S. military said American soldiers who were involved in the
operation reported only 72 insurgents were taken into custody.

At Camp Bucca, one of three prison camps in Iraq, guards thwarted an
attempted prison break when they discovered a 600-foot tunnel that
reached beyond the compound fence. No one had yet escaped, said Army
Maj. Flora Lee.

Camp Bucca, near the southern city of Umm Qasr, houses 6,049 detainees,
nearly two-thirds of all those in Iraq, Lee said.

A bucket cut from a water container and a shovel made from tent supports
were used to dig the tunnel, Lee said. The opening was under a
floorboard of the compound and was concealed with soil.

Authorities in charge of the compound realized a tunnel was under way
after they found soil in latrines and other places, Lee said.

"I'm not aware of any other instances where this has happened," Lee
said. "There have been a few other attempts at digging a tunnel but
nothing of this size."

U.S. guards fired on prisoners during a riot at Camp Bucca on Jan. 31,
killing four detainees and injuring six others.

* ___

Associated Press writer Douglass K. Daniel contributed to this report
from Washington, D.C.

_______________________________________________
Marxism mailing list
Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism