It often falls on bloggers and non-traditional media to get out the word that Iraq isn\’t all just death and violence. Sure it\’s not rainbows and puppies either, but there are good things happening. And lately the good news has been a fairly constant stream of events.
Captain Ed, of Hot Air, shares some of the most recent good news.
Suddenly, the oil companies want to invest in Iraq, and the Iraqis welcome them. The enthusiasm for Iraqi investment comes as the US has mostly pacified the west and Iraq has taken control of its south for the first time since the British began retreating there. The south is significant, as not only does it contain massive oil fields but it also has the ports through which Iraq exports its crude. Basra and Umm Qasr are now in the hands of the Baghdad government, not Moqtada al-Sadr, and the companies can conduct business on a normal basis.
These companies would not put their money and personnel where the investments could not be secured. Having 120 companies apply for prequalification shows confidence in the stability of Iraq that seems to have escaped the media and some of our own politicians here in the US, who seem more interested in portraying Iraq as a continuing disaster. Contributing to that stability is an upcoming revenue-sharing agreement, which Maliki promised would soon gain approval at a conference in Belgium, which would give all Iraqis a stake in maintaining security.
Ok he\’s right, that is good news and it\’s worth hearing. However, I think Capt Ed is trying too hard. He doesn\’t really have to go through all this just to demonstrate that the country is rapidly moving towards a peaceful existence.
We can skip all this debate about oil production and private investment, and skip right to this story.
Iraqis often complain about the problems in their country and the government\’s lack of obvious progress in solving them.
But as drivers in traffic-clogged Baghdad learned this week, Iraqi officials are taking action in one area: strict enforcement of a seat belt law.
Later this month, traffic police officers all over Iraq will start issuing tickets to any scofflaw who drives without buckling up. Violators will be fined 15,000 dinars — about $12.50.
Yeah, you read that right. Iraqi police are giving out tickets for seat belt violations. If they have time to mess around with trivial crap like that, what does that say about the state of the country??