"Fresh Air" grim & devastating report on Iraq

[G_j]

http://freshair.npr.org/
from
Christopher Dickey the Paris bureau chief and Middle East regional editor for Newsweek magazine.

[speedoo]

1. Caught the last half-hour.

Dickey's description of Iraq was the most pessimistic I have heard. There is no possibility of a "democratic Iraq". Zero. The long term options are not at all good. To me, a pull-out is probably the best option at this point.

But Dickey knows what he's talking about, so I have no doubt that his assessment is on target. The tragedy is, it is totally unnecessary.

No doubt about it, it is Vietnam all over again, just on a smaller scale.

[WEagle]

2. 'The administration doesn't care about democracy'

the most dangerous place seasoned reporters have ever been,
reporters wonder why they should risk their lives if nobody cares or their stories are not reported.

very depressing

[AlCzervik]

3. i'll listen later, i'm still recovering from yesterday's Nightline report.

[G_j]

5. that was indeed frightening

The Fresh Air interview is worth listening to because there is more depth to the insights offered re: the bigger picture.

[calimary]

6. I missed it - what happened?

[AlCzervik]

7. They showed a lot of Iraq that you don't see on the news

schools that were rebuilt are now bombed out again with troops taking up postions there. It showed the overnight shelling over Najaf and other cities. It was really depressing. They will never have any kind of democracy there, i'm sorry to say that but i think it's true.

[calimary]

9. Well, at least it was on one of the "majors" - more people watch

CBS, NBC and ABC than the cable outlets. With rare exception - as in Pox's cable-cast of bush's CONvention acceptance speech. Otherwise, the cable networks are NOWHERE in the ratings, compared with the "big three." We NEED more of this stuff on the mainstream media. MUCH more. Joe-Sixpack-type people actually watch the mainstream networks more. It's mainly we news junkies who mainline the cable folks. Thanks for the update.

[G_j]

11. CBS evening news

had a pretty unflinching report on Iraq last night.
I called them and thanked them.

[G_j]

4. he brought up something I thought was very important

before the invasion Bush only used the word "liberation" never once mentioned "occupation".

[leftchick]

8. I heard it as well...

very disturbing but not a lot we did not already know. I thought the part about how Allawi being a CIA thug (my word not his) and he won't be accepted by Iraqis was a very honest assesment. I also thought when he said the WH knows there won't be democracy in Iraq was very interesting. I still think of them as being so delusional that they still believe in their insane neocon fantasies.

on edit: I just remembered the last part where he compared early 2002 when the inspectors were in Irraq doing an excellent job and we had captured several key Al Queda figures he said we had become much safer because of that. Contrasted with now Fall of 2004 where he said because of Iraq and dropping the ball on Al-Q we are now in A LOT of danger. Hear that AmeriKa? So chimpy* says we are safer?!?

[G_j]

10. interesting

because this guy is a real hawk compared to myself. Still he was very clear that he thought the war was an unequivocal, dishonest and deadly blunder.