Iraq: "Saddam Can Only Watch"

Time for Arthur Chrenkoff's latest biweekly Iraq "good news" update:

What a difference two years can make. Commenting on the news that Saddam Hussein's nemesis, leader of the people Saddam liked to gas, has now been elected President of Iraq, Mohammed Saleh, a 42-year old Kurd interviewed by the media on the streets of Kirkuk, had this to say: "Today Jalal Talabani made it to the seat of power, while Saddam Hussein is sitting in jail. . . . Who would have thought."

History is, of course, full of delicious ironies. Not the least that the authorities have permitted Iraq's Prisoner No. 1 to watch from his prison cell the swearing in of the new government. While Iraq's new leaders lack Saddam's 99.8% "electoral mandates," they certainly make up for it in unscripted enthusiasm and passion. Meanwhile, Saddam, who for years inflicted on his captive television audience his rambling speeches and meaningless proceedings of Iraq's "parliament." is now on the receiving end, getting the taste of the real democracy in action.

But while the momentous political events once again monopolized the headlines for the past two weeks, a lot of other positive developments have been taking place across Iraq, mostly out of the media spotlight. Here are some of these stories:


Saddam Can Only Watch