Don't buy media quagmire

By Nick Swan

As a chronic watcher of cable news, I have come to believe that what the world needs now is not love, sweet love, but sanity. From Gary Coleman's campaign for governor to Kim Jong Il's bouffant hairstyle, it would seem that the planet has gone mad.

Have no fear, though, for I, your humble columnist, have decided to take up the noble duty of adding sanity to the discourse of our time. I hope to demonstrate my sanity throughout this column, but for now, you'll just have to take my word that I have yet to spend time in a mental institution.

In my view, the most pressing issue in need of reasonable perspective is the ongoing reconstruction effort in Iraq. Contrary to most media reports describing the situation as a "quagmire," there is actual good news coming out of Iraq. Here is a short rundown of our accomplishments so far: - Over 30,000 Iraqi police have been hired.

45 of the 55 most wanted have been killed or captured.

1,595 schools have been rehabilitated. Students now have adequate textbooks.

Nearly all hospitals and universities have been reopened.

Over 100 independent newspapers have sprung up.

55,000 Iraqis have been hired by USAID to work on reconstruction.

The first battalion of the new Iraqi army has been trained.

There is a governing council consisting of Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds and women.

Weapons inspector David Kay has discovered "dozens of WMD-related program activities" concealed from the U.N. inspectors, plans for missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometers, and planned attempts to obtain technology from North Korea related to ballistic missiles.

Compared with the reconstruction of Germany, a country that had a previous democratic tradition, these results are nothing short of astounding. Still, there are some who persistently try to compare Iraq with another war: Vietnam.

History buffs will note that the Vietnam war ended in 1975, but that doesn't seem to phase a bitter former senator from Georgia, Max Cleland, who wrote in a recent editorial, "Welcome to Vietnam, Mr. President." Cleland writes, "If you want to know what is really going on in the war, ask the troops on the ground." Don't mind if I do, Max. Josh Ingram, 20, served as a machine gun squad leader in Iraq with the 3rd Battalion U.S. Marines. When he returned home from his service, he was astonished to hear media reports of constant chaos and Iraqi opposition to U.S. forces. Ingram noted that the impression he got was conspicuously different.

"People absolutely loved us everywhere we went," Ingram writes, adding that kids would often run up to the soldiers and give them flowers and gifts as a "thank you" for disposing a horrible tyrant.

Bob Arnot, one of the few reporters actually reporting on the progress in Iraq, is also baffled by the media coverage.

"I contrast some of the infectious enthusiasm I see here with what I see on TV and I say, 'Oh my God, am I in the same country?'" Of course, those are the views of two U.S. citizens, and they may be biased.

What do the Iraqis themselves think? A recent poll taken in Iraq by the American Enterprise Magazine and John Zogby offered some interesting answers.

The poll found that 7 out of 10 Iraqis think their lives will be better in 5 years, with less than 1 in 10 saying they will be worse. When asked which country the new Iraqi government should model itself on, 37 percent said the United States, more than any other country, and more than neighboring countries Syria, Iran and Egypt combined. Sixty percent said that they did not want an Islamic government. Interestingly, the Shiites, who some absurdly thought would form an alliance with Iran, were the most opposed to the idea, with 66 percent saying no to a theocracy.

For those who think this poll might be wrong, a Gallup poll taken in Baghdad found largely the same thing, with 70 percent of Iraqis answering that they are glad the U.S. is there. You'd have to fish around to find it though, as it was buried in The New York Times on page 16.

Of course, you could also talk to ordinary Iraqis, like Mustafa Adna, 18, of the city of Kirkuk. Adna, free to speak his mind, now, told a reporter this: "We love the Americans here. They have done many good things." By bringing all of this to your attention, I do not mean to imply that Iraq is a perfect situation or that it is not dangerous. I am merely pointing out that the country is much better off than the media portrays it to be and than it ever was under Saddam Hussein. To suggest otherwise would be insane.

Nick Swan of Knoxville, Tenn., is a staff reporter for The Daily Helmsman at the University of Memphis, where he is a senior. He is the grandson of Mrs. Norman Swan of Pocahontas, Mo., and the nephew of Reg and Kathy Swan of Cape Girardeau.