Iraq - The Awakening - What the Media isn't telling you

If violence in Iraq drops and CNN is not around to report it; does that mean that violence is not down?

Mass Media is starting to act like seeing signs of success in Iraq is like seeing Bigfoot. Mass Media may not believe what they are seeing but it is starting to become harder to deny.

Many people have heard about the Anbar awakening. That was when we first saw a large population stand up against al Qaeda and oust them from their neighborhoods. Well now I have heard from a few people who are reluctant to believe or maybe just baffled that we haven't seen much on the News about how different Iraq is now as opposed to a couple months ago.

The fact is all over Iraq al Qaeda is on the run. But more signifficant is the reduction in military deaths, secterian violence, and suicide bombings.

Click here to view a recent interview of Michael Yon in Iraq.

Michael Yon has been reporting from the front lines in Iraq and has a good insight of the significant progress within the past couuple months. I hope you share this information with your friends. Thanks and best Wishes, - Ian Bach

Please take a couple second to Vote for Micahel Yon's Blog for the 2007 Blog awards. CLICK HERE

German Translations of Michael Yon's Articles

Michael Yon has added a new German version of his latest article and will be adding additional languges.

Here is a portion and Link for the german Version of Resistance is Futile.

Widerstand ist zwecklos: Man wird Sie (fehl)informieren.

Alle beschreiben den himmelweiten Unterschied zwischen dem, was die meisten Amerikaner zu glauben scheinen, was im Irak passiert, gegenüber dem, was tatsächlich im Irak passiert. Zu wissen, daß diese Abkopplung existiert und sie selbst zu erfahren sind zwei völlig getrennte Dinge. Es ist wie der Unterschied, einerseits die Fernbedienung während der Übertragung eines Vulkanausbruchs auf einer fernen Insel in der Hand zu halten (und dann den Kanal zu wechseln)  MORE HERE

 

The Current State of Iraq

The Following is an Email update for Michael Yon's readers. Mr. Yon has been reporting from the front lines and working to fight the ignorace the mass media has spread:

If you have trouble reading this email, go to the online version.

Greetings:

Iraq is on the mend, al Qaeda is on the run, and the civil war has abated to a point where the term "civil war" no longer applies.

Accurate war coverage is increasingly important. Even prominent seemingly well-informed persons can get it wrong, such as retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez who previously commanded the war in Iraq . His recent public statements –selectively excerpted and then widely dispersed by the hot winds of media – made it clear that this former senior commander is far out of touch with the current situation.

But there are commanders with a finger on the pulse.

When earlier this year I wrote about the 1-4 CAV transforming an abandoned seminary in a Baghdad neighborhood that had been decimated by civil war, the "surge" had not even begun; but already pundits, politicians and editors had declared it a failure. Though I'd spent only a few days with LTC Crider and his 1-4 CAV soldiers at the new COP Amanche, I ended the dispatch on a note of hope based on observation. I recently received an email from LTC Crider with an update on that Baghdad neighborhood. Please read "Achievements of the Human Heart" and see for yourself.

I was in al Basra province when I saw news reports claiming that Basra city had descended into chaos in the wake of an announcement about the draw down of British Soldiers. I emailed the facts about Basra to several bloggers who hold the media accountable, and the resulting effort got the attention of Tom Foreman who anchors CNN's "This Week at War." We were able to make a CNN interview, and the result is a segment that accurately reflects a complex and changing situation. Bravo to CNN for setting the record straight, and to the tireless bloggers who are making a substantial difference in the way news about the war is delivered.

There are major developments to share with readers in upcoming dispatches. If things go at-least-mostly according to plan (which is all we can hope for in war), and if I can rely on the help of readers who share my frustration with the lack of accurate reporting, we can significantly widen the stream of news flowing from Iraq so more people can obtain a truer picture. This will require the will and generosity of readers. But more on that, soon.

Michael
Basra, Iraq

The Anbar Awakening

Ramadi had only 200 police a few months ago it now has approx. 8,000. Safety in the region has completly changed. Many of the police were helping insurgents and/or attacking our troops only a couple months ago. IED attacks and sniper incidents are now rare where they were once common place, daily occurences. There is some great interviews of the soldiers and the iraqi police. The problems and the successes. what hits home most is the soldiers asking that the politicians give them the time to help Iraq be more stable so that their friends would not have died in vain.

I added the links below

1st link is the most recent update by PBS in Anbar

2nd link is Jan-June in 2007

PBS KCET 9:00pm friday 9-14-07 LA, CA

Third Time Around - An hour-long NOW special

Here is an earlier artile from jan-june 2007

Iraq's Anbar Province Faces Political, Military Changes