Under the Radar

Now here this...

The news from Iraq is getting better all the time; so why isn't Cable News telling Americans about these significant positive developments?

Muwafaq al-Rubaie
This weekend Maliki's National Security Adviser, Muwafaq al-Rubaie made the rounds of DC chat rooms; Cspan, Think tanks, CSIS, the Press Club, WH & Congressional Briefings...but all was quiet on the bad-news-only networks; not a peep of fan fare for the bearer of the long awaited "political solution" demanded by anti-war Democrats from the Bush Administration, the Iraqis Government and Gen.Petraeus.

Granted, *a comprehensive enduring relationship with a strategically located ally* may be more than partisan Democrats, vested in a Bush failure, care to accept; however, that IS the message delivered by al Rubaie in hopes of rallying the support of the American people who've been prompted to quit Iraq by the anti-war Democrats and deluged with ominous deceptive reports by the enemies of the USA and a free independent Iraq.

A little about Muwafaq:
He's a Shite married to a Sunni; as a young medical student he was arrested and tortured by Saddam. He fled to the UK, finished his studies as a neurologist in Scotland. For a decade he lobbied the US Congress in the 90s with a group of professionals for regime change in Iraq. An exile from 1980 to 2003.

After hearing this earnest man's story, the call-ins on Cspan were less critical and more curious about the efforts of the maligned Iraqi Government to achieve reconciliation among the insurgents, build the economy and start providing public services so that combat operations by US troops can end successfully.

He made several important points:

----Now-a-days in Baghdad violence is down and security is much better due to the Surge. Gen.Petraeus is a first class soldier; Iraqi forces lead in 70% of the cases. GW Bush will be honored in Iraqi history as the man who liberated millions from the 35 year reign of terror by the dictator Saddam Hussein.

----All Iraqis are turning on foreign fighters..namely Al Qaeda, Iran and Syria. His words were urgent. We MUST engage continuously with Iran, tell them to stop muddling or we'll lose everything we've gained so far. The Iraqi Government, both Militaries, the US and other Countries' statesmen with a stake in a stable unified Iraq must take action and threaten Iran with "real pain."

----As to the talk of partition...al-Rubaie was viscerally opposed, he said it "irritates him." The ideal formula is Constitutionally mandated Federalism...a strong Central Government deriving it's power from popular representatives of all the diverse localities and provinces throughout Iraq. That model, as Sunnis and Shia unite against intruders, is starting to take shape. The Central Government will then respond to requests for services, infrastructure and the need to share in the Country's Oil Resources.

----The Oil Sector: It's pivotal that the Secy of Energy encourage more capital investment in order to bolster Iraq's lucrative oil sector. If modernized, expanded...handled properly and shared with the people...a booming Iraqi economy will enrich the Country and everyone in it.

(Out of the mix..a must!)
On Iran's involvement in feeding the insurgency, echoing al Rubaie's alarm, Gen.Petraeus said Tehran was giving militia groups advanced weaponry and guidance: "They(Iran's Revolutionary Guards) are responsible for providing the weapons, the training, the funding and in some cases the direction for operations that have kiled US soldiers."

The US Congress declared Iran's Army a "terrorist orgainization" opening the gates to surgical strikes inside Iran on the locations that make the IEDs.



You can find Muwafaq al-Rubaie's remarks in full at Cspan.