why is it everywhere i turn to nowadays, there's sensationalist media reporting that things in iraq are turning for the worse? anyways, there's an editorial from the weekly standard that you should read. it doesn't imply by a long shot that things are dandy in iraq ... but just give it a read. (it's #10, but i'm also going to post it below).

As I write this from Baghdad International Airport my thoughts drift to an upcoming 4th of July, a time when American Muslims feel that sense of duality a little more strongly than usual (Mansoor Ijaz, Supporting Our Armed Forces: An American Muslim's Perspective): An appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy coupled with a longing for the lands of our heritage; proud of our advancements on these shores and bemoaning the inability of our homelands to re-visit the more glorious days of our past.

It's easy in our skepticism to look at cursory reports from the media and dismiss the events now unfolding in Iraq as either just another example of American imperialism or a catastrophic mess in the making. Yet doing so does no justice to the nation being re-born before my eyes. Every day more and more decent and hardworking Iraqis are standing up for themselves, learning that, as one Iraqi teacher lamented, "for every six steps forward we take five more back."

Now is the time for the American Muslim community to build bridges and tell the Iraqis that they will not be forgotten. We can help nurture a sense of ownership that the Iraqis have lost after years of being degraded. American Muslims are in a unique position to couple their education and knowledge to help Iraqis help themselves. We can act as liaisons between groups, advocates for rights, and fundraisers for needs no one else has yet to identify. For every American NGO there should be 10 American-Muslim NGOs working with Iraqis.

While skepticism given America's foreign-policy record in this part of the world may be warranted, on an interpersonal level I see the U.S. military treating Iraqis with respect over and over again. I see commanders asking me and other American Muslims for advice on how to deal with religious and cultural sensitivities and taking very seriously any real or perceived abuses by troops. I see Iraqis risk their safety and the safety of their families to inform on rogue elements. I see soldiers who've never left places like Kansas City understand and use the word inshallah. I've seen food distribution that was slow and methodical because U.S. soldiers there wanted to make sure that older mothers got what they needed first. Afterwards community leaders and elders who normally would have cursed these foreigners thank them for treating their people with dignity.

There is an Arab proverb that says a thousand days of tyranny is better than one day of anarchy. It's time we kick that proverb to the curb.

--Omar Amin, Specialist, U.S. Army