One of my favorite sites which I visit to note how things are REALLY going in Iraq, is IRAQ THE MODEL The authors dont sugarcoat things but they present what must be a pretty accurate picture of how things are going for the majority of Iraqis.
From that site you can surf to any number of Iraqi and middle eastern blogs with varying points of view... some pretty critical of US policy, but worth reading for the real views nonetheless.
Recently he linked to a post in Friends of Democracy
..... That was how we abused our freedom given to us for the first time in our lives, thanks to the boots of Marines which crushed Saddam's Fedayeen and Baathists.
I truly believe that our salvation as a nation depends on our being completely honest with the United States; to prove to her that we are Iraqis first and that we do not conspire against her with Iran or Syria or anyone; to thank and to acknowledge her role in liberating us, otherwise we will be heading to disaster.
The United States is the sole player in Iraq today. A new Marshall plan in Iraq would contribute greatly to our economic development. We should learn from the Japanese, the Koreans and the Germans. We should ask them how they dealt with America, how they reassured her that her interests were secure and how they were reconstructed by her to become among the world's greatest economic superpowers. Perhaps the secret is that none of these countries were neighboring Iran or Syria? Nevertheless, we should learn to overcome our geographical fate because, unfortunately, it can never be changed.
That could be done by even more Iraqis refusing to submit to the natural urge to react to foreigners showing their power, turning that emotion, instead, against foreigners and anarchists who demonstrate their power by killing innocents.
Truly, no army can defeat a terror campaign... it takes the will of the society under attack to do that.
