UPDATED: Pajamas’ Direct Reports From Iraq/NY Times institutionalized pessimism
PajamasMedia has hired eight Iraqi reporters to cover today’s election. So far Pajamas has posted eight or nine stories, from Babil (Babylon), Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, and more. The reporters will file throughout the day.
UPDATE: One post says at least one voting center in Iraq reports an 84 percent voter turnout. I’m sure that’s just one place, but overall turnout in Iraq will beat January’s 60 percent turnout a substantial margin.
UPDATE 2: An LA Times article. It describes an Iraq I’ve seen first hand, but the LA Times rarely sees.
Key graf, and positioned near the top of the article:
“I am proud as an Iraqi because our country is becoming a center of attraction for all Arab countries,” said Mohammad Wadi, a 50-year-old Shiite schoolteacher casting his ballot in the capital’s Karada district.
He added, “The new situation in Iraq, the democratic system, is starting to put pressure on the Arab systems to make some changes toward democracy.”
Another graf, which gives voice to the shift in Sunni attitudes some of us saw in 2004 :
Many Sunni voters today said they did not vote in January’s parliamentary election, either as part of a boycott out of security fears. Today, they voted with enthusiasm, mostly for one of several Sunni slates or the secular list led by former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
“I didn’t vote in January because at the time the political realities were not clear,” said Abdul Samariyee, 65, a retired tax collector in Baghdad’s Qadasiya district, where police were spotted driving a pregnant woman to the polling station. “Now, Iraqis have begun to realize that the peaceful way is better than violence to get their demands.”
The NY Times offers something at least quasi-optimistic, but note the headline’s spin “Heavy Sunni Turnout Is Reported; No Large-Scale Attacks by Rebels”. The terrorists and fascists are still “rebels,” not anti-liberty, power-mad reactionaries. That is what Zarqawi’s and Saddam’s minions are.
The article still has plenty of flash and bang — the juice of violence on a day when democratic hope is the big story.
Here’s the lede:
In a day remarkable for the absence of large-scale violence, millions of Iraqi voters, many of them dressed in their best and traveling with other family members, streamed to the polls today to cast ballots in a nationwide election as Iraqi leaders predicted that the vote would split almost evenly between secular and Islamist parties.
In spite of some explosions in Baghdad and Ramadi, voting appeared to be strong in many parts of the country, including in Sunni neighborhoods where many people boycotted the last election.
“The numbers are larger than the previous election,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States ambassador here, told CNN this morning.
Iraqi and American officials said it would take about a week to compile the preliminary results of the elections. Voters in the 18 Iraqi provinces are choosing among 231 parties, coalitions and candidates in selecting members for a 275-seat Parliament. The legislators will serve a four-year term, and they will approve a president and a prime minister.
As the polls opened at 7 a.m., a mortar struck the middle of the Green Zone compound in central Baghdad, the site of the American Embassy and the offices of top Iraqi officials…
Millions vote. That’s the big story, the huge, grand story. The democratic surge continues– that’s the tide of history. This report, however, suggests thoroughly ingrained and institutionalized pessimism. Note the language of gloom, doom and failure lurking in the text.(”fissures”, “deadlock”, “alarm”, “profound differences”, “vastly polarized”, “growing pressure” on American commanders, etc.).
The lead sentences in three of the first five paragraphs insistently turn on the theme of violence. First graf: the lack of “large-scale” violence (meaning small scale continues). Second graf: explosions. Graf 5: a mortar round. Yes, this report is based on fact. Volence is occuring, it’s a war zone. However, the violence is intended to stop people from voting. The violence is designed to intimidate.
Here’s another sample of facts cast in pessimism:
Today’s elections, which were expected to draw as many as 10 million Iraqis to the polls, will be the last formal milestone in the American-backed political process that was devised to foster a democratic government.
They are being seen by Iraqi and American leaders as the definitive test of the Bush administration’s assumption that a free vote is the best means for reconciling Iraq’s vastly polarized ethnic and sectarian groups and defeating the Sunni Arab insurgency that is threatening to break the country apart.
The vote is expected to reveal a fissure of another sort, between a Shiite coalition of religious parties on one side and a mostly secular array of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties on the other.
Between them are profound differences over the direction of the country and the nature of the Iraqi state, not just over how heavily it should influenced by Islam but also over the powers of the central government and the autonomy granted to local regions. Implicit in those questions, for many Iraqis, is whether the country can survive at all.
Read the entire article and decide for yourself.
UPDATE 3: Quick reply to commenter: When will the MSM eat crow? One answer: When will we see the Eason Jordan Davos’ slander tape? A more serious answer: five years? About that time –after an indecent interval– we’ll see a couple of “sorta kinda mea culpa” bestsellers churned out by reporters “re-visiting the old haunts.”
See the post on voter turnout, with material from Iraq the Model. Compare it to the NY Times gloom.
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The time is rapidly approaching when the NYT et al will be overcome by events. It will no longer be necessary to point out their agenda. They will realize that we do not trust them and it will be too late.
Comment by hfrose — 12/15/2005 @ 10:39 am
The Doubting Thomas MSMs can’t stand to see what is going on. From David Sanger of the NY Times today…..”concerns over long term persist.” Will they ever eat crow?
Comment by Charles J. Nager, Jr. — 12/15/2005 @ 10:40 am
I thought you guys would love this. Because of the events in Iraq this week I thought this was great! I saw a pretty cool website Thepurplefinger.org They are selling t-shirts and posters and donating proceeds to veterans charities. The phrase on the items support the Iraqi people and the troops by stating “Give Terrorism the Finger!” Very appropriate. I’m spreading the word. Thought you might like to know! Jim
Comment by Jim — 12/15/2005 @ 10:50 am
Do not expect the NYT or many other so-called main media outlets to change their song. The truth is not what they are after, but rather telling people what they must believe, true or not. Fake but accurate is their Orwellian approach. Gloom & doom automatically follows.
Comment by Marlowe Anderson — 12/15/2005 @ 10:52 am
The last paragraph of the NYT piece makes it sound like it is a bad thing that Iraqis are debating and discussing the shape and roles of their government. It is not like we here in the US don’t have these discussions. To me that sounds like a feature not a bug. I guess in the old days they did not have this problem becasue the govt. knew its role, and the population stayed out of the way. Or to look at it another way, these are tough important questions that need to be answered, and the solution can be arrived at by voting (good) or by shooting (bad), so which is it that the NYT wants? BCN
Comment by BCN — 12/15/2005 @ 10:59 am
The beginning of the end Pajamas Media has wall to wall coverage of the voting in Iraq. Sissy Willis dubs the event the Carnival of the elections. Over the past few weeks the Posse has been viewing World War I: the complete series on DVD.
Trackback by Posse Incitatus — 12/15/2005 @ 11:08 am
Give it a couple of days. The MSM will find some negative thread to persue. Voting fraud. Elected Shia politicians closely linked to Iran. They can’t / won’t have the courage to understand and ackowledge the victory we are witnessing, because it is a vindication for Bush’s Middle East policies.
Comment by sonicfrog — 12/15/2005 @ 11:09 am
This is where we turn the corner This is where we turn the corner; where the Iraqi people make the decision to collectively put the insurgency in the ground. Lt. Col. Scott Morrison with the 5th Brigade in Mosul, Iraq.
Trackback by Mark in Mexico — 12/15/2005 @ 11:36 am
The NYT has been a creature of the left since one of its reporters won a Pulitzer for glowing positive reports of Stalin’s Purge Trials. “No fault on the Left” has been a mantra at the NYT, LAT, and other Exempt Media outlets for decades. The NYT finally apologized for the Pulitzer [the prize itself is judged left of center]a year or so ago. That’s seventy years later. The Liberal Death Star has an agenda=destroy Bush. Plamegate is another litmus test for the Left. If you do not kiss the ring of Fitzgerald and pretend a real crime was committed, you get flamed like Woodward and the two Novaks. Now a fraud named Froomkin at the WaPo is the latest darling of the hyperventilating hysterical Liberal left. The beat goes on…..
Comment by daveinboca — 12/15/2005 @ 11:44 am
I rememeber reading a story once how POWs in Germany knew the war was going our way. They would hear reports from the German media how Germany was winning this battle and winning that battle. They were always winning. But what the POWs noted was that all the battles were getting closer and closer to Germany, not farther away. That told them everything they needed to know. When you read references to “concerns over long term persist” it’s the same concept. The previous “unwinnable” battle has been won so no they suddenly shift to covering a different “unwinnable” story. The key is not in what they are saying but what they are not saying. The front is shifting, just as it did in Germany, and however reluctantly, they are forced to acknowledge that.
Comment by kcom — 12/15/2005 @ 11:49 am
Iraq Extends Voting After High Turnout AP reports: ” Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election Thursday, with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas and even a shortage of ballots in some precincts. Several explosions rocked Baghdad throughout the day, but the level of v…
Trackback by California Conservative — 12/15/2005 @ 11:50 am
Best joke from Jay Leno on Tuesday night (I’m paraphrasing): ABC reported that over 75% of Iraqis feel that their country is headed in the right direction. I guess they don’t get the New York Times. It’s funny because it’s true.
Comment by Bob_Minn — 12/15/2005 @ 12:13 pm
While I know the editorial page for the Wall Street Journal keeps faith with the troops and Iraqi people, am I the only one that thinks the news side, and almost always the front page, serves as a foil to their own edit page and really hates the Bush administration. Look at todays front page, most negative by far.
Comment by mark simon — 12/15/2005 @ 12:27 pm
I watched Anderson Cooper interview an Iraqi poll worker; a female school teacher who was voting just as the polls were opening. She was very excited and optimistic; he was trying as hard as he could to put a negative spin on the day.
Comment by exhelodrvr — 12/15/2005 @ 12:37 pm
The vote in the US Presidential elections in both 2000 & 2004]
is expected toreveal[s] a fissure of another sort, betweena Shiite coalition of religious parties[people who prefer self reliance] on one side and a mostly secular array ofShiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties[special interest groups who rely on the government] on the other. In other words, it sounds like a democracy in action. Between them are profound differences over the direction of the country and the nature of the Iraqi state, not just over how heavily it should influenced by Islam but also over the powers of the central government and the autonomy granted to local regions. Implicit in those questions, for many Iraqis, is whether the country can survive at all.Comment by Becker — 12/15/2005 @ 12:43 pm
This is the pudding wherein the proof resides.
Comment by SumoRunner — 12/15/2005 @ 12:45 pm
Chimpy W. McHitlerBushton’s War for Oil Damn you Chimpy W. McHitlerBushton!!! How dare you impose liberty, equality, and democracy on peoples that just don’t want it!!! Clearly Bush should be tried for War Crimes… He is the true terrorist! See […] Austin Bay on The Great Revolt.
Trackback by Another Rovian Conspiracy - St Wendeler — 12/15/2005 @ 12:52 pm
Morning Rounds …this is a new dawn for the Iraqi people, who are electing a full four-year term Parliment. They’re making the most of it, as turnout is extremely heavy and the elections have been extended by an hour.
Trackback by A Blog For All — 12/15/2005 @ 12:52 pm
One would think that eternal pessimism, doom, and gloom would get tiresome, even for those at the “New York Crimes.” The only way I can explain why they continue to walk on the Dark Side is because it gives meaning and enrichment to their lives. Hmmmm, I wonder what the “Crimes” would have said about some other conflicts? “80% of Southerners Want U.S. to Leave” (June 1864) “Custer and His Command Massacred: Time for an Exit Strategy from Montana?” (July 1876) “U.S. Routed at Kasserine Pass: Saharan Quagmire in North Africa” (February 1943) “80% of Germans Want Allies Out” (June 1945) “Marines Take Heavy Casualties at Chosin Reservoir. Is South Korea Worth the Price?” (December 1950) You get the picture…..
Comment by Mark — 12/15/2005 @ 1:09 pm
“Failure” Of Democracy Produces Huge Turnout A fledgling democracy seems to have moved past testing the water to cannonballing into the deep end.BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election Thursday, with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas and even a shortage of
Trackback by Joust The Facts — 12/15/2005 @ 1:42 pm
It is amazing that the MSM has not realized that by choosing sides in the political debate (on any page except the editorial page)that they reduce their audience by half where opinions are evenly divided. Reader revenues drop by this same fraction and advertising revenues are then reduced and because they are a function of the audience size. This is my definition of economic suicide. On the other hand a co-opted press, while free,is actually worthless.
Comment by harry taft — 12/15/2005 @ 2:17 pm
Any legitimacy the insergents ever had disappeared for keeps today. The Iraqi people are doing extrordinary things. History is going to show that this was absolutely the right thing to do. God bless the Iraqi people.
Comment by gp — 12/15/2005 @ 3:11 pm
As a long-time observer of the political media, here’s how I think this will eventually be spun if If Iraq turns out a success: 1. After the successful elections, the focus of the media will be on the ‘divisions’ within Iraqi society that the election has exposed. 2. There will be much handwringing about civil war, and every time an Iraqi politician says something inflammatory about his opponents, it’ll be trumpeted in the MSM as an example of the ‘widening rift’ in the government. Every little stumble and difficulty the new government experiences will be held up as an example of how the experiment will eventually fail. 3. As success grows more and more apparent, the Democrats will come out of the woodwork claiming that Iraq was headed for failure until Bush heeded the wise advice of the Democrats like Biden, and abandoned the evil neocons. 4. A few years down the road, ‘everyone will know’ this about the war: It was widely supported by Democrats. Then Bush screwed it up, kicking off an insurgency and almost losing the war. The success came only after the Democratic plan, which they had presented all along, was implemented. 5. Once they find a way to either claim the war was really a Democratic plan (Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation act in 1998, don’tcha know), or that it was entered into recklessly by Republicans but saved by Democrats, then the media will be free to report on the country favorably. A good parallel would be the treatment of Ronald Reagan. I was politically active during Reagan’s presidency, and I can well remember how viciously he was hated by the left, and how every one of his strategies to stop the Soviets and pressure them into defeat was bitterly opposed by the left. I also remember the shock that came out of the media when the Berlin fell and the Soviet Union crumbled, because their narrative was that the Soviet Union was strong, had better education and health care than the U.S., and that we needed to learn to live together because they weren’t going anywhere. After a couple of years, suddenly a new meme emerged - ‘everyone knew’ that the Soviet Union was crumbling, Reagan had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t until Reagan died that some people began to give him credit for doing what he did, and now ‘everyone knows’ that Reagan was always loved and the Democrats got along fabulously with him.
Comment by Dan H. — 12/15/2005 @ 3:37 pm
“I’ve seen this before in my life. This is the same situation we had in Vietnam.” “I’ve seen this before in my life. This is the same situation we had in Vietnam.” “I’ve seen this before in my life. This is the same situation we had in Vietnam.” “I’ve seen this before in my life. This is the same situation we had in Vietnam.” Look Mummy. There’s an aireoplane up in the sky!
Comment by sonicfrog — 12/15/2005 @ 4:35 pm
Interesting that the New York Times now seems to have changed its tune, no? It may not quite be eating crow, but it’s certainly changing the dish on the table.
Comment by Aaron — 12/15/2005 @ 9:30 pm
Quick reply to commenter: When will the MSM eat crow?’ When hell freezes over. Case in point CBS pursuing airhead/liberal Katey Couric and Bob Schieffer saying she has ‘great credibility’. Give credit where it’s due though, they’re not giving in to reality.
Comment by IcallMasICM — 12/16/2005 @ 6:57 am
[…] st how out of touch with the outside world are those within the Beltway media bubble. The media pessimism can’t last forever. Eventually, people will recognize the truth about Iraq. In the meantime, tho […]
Pingback by >bt: Purple Fingers Point the Way to Peace — 12/16/2005 @ 9:19 am
” I was politically active during Reagan’s presidency, and I can well remember how viciously he was hated by the left, and how every one of his strategies to stop the Soviets and pressure them into defeat was bitterly opposed by the left. ” My son has two posters on his bedroom wall: One is the picture of Lenin’s statue hanging from a cable; the other is he one of Saddam’s statue being pulled over in Baghdad in 2003. My hard left B-I-L (travelled to the USSR four times in the 70’s and 80’s and said how GREAT it was) now refuss to come to our house. :~)
Comment by Sharpshooter — 12/16/2005 @ 9:55 am