Posted by
The Patriot on Thursday, January 01, 2009 11:31:40 AM
You probably won't hear much about this in the mainstream media, anyway. Earlier today, while much of America was still sleeping off the remains of 2008, the United States was officially handing off control of Baghdad's "Green Zone" to Iraqi authorities. Saddam Hussein's presidential palace had served as the U.S. embassy and military headquarters in Iraq, but today was returned to a sovereign Iraqi government.
But will anybody notice? It's doubtful. The media has spent the last few days bemoaning just how awful 2008 was (based largely on the last three months of the year). We've all seen the headlines, "Thank God It's Over!" or others like it, as talking heads rehash the worst of the past 365 days. While every "news" show in the country was filling air time with stories about New Year's resolutions, horoscopes and predictions, and hangover remedies, the Iraqi government was marking a major milestone in its return to independence.
Still, it is encouraging to see. Despite our economic struggles at home, 2008 was a year of great gains in Iraq. Violence has dropped off dramatically, from an average of about 180 attacks per day a year ago to approximately 10 per day now. American military deaths have decreased by almost 60%, and a similar decrease also applies to the Iraqis. The murder rate in Iraq is about 1 per 100,00 citizens (the FBI reported that the 2007 murder rate in the U.S. was 5.6 per 100,000).
So while America stumbles, pessimistic and bleary-eyed out of 2008 and into 2009, there is good news to be found. You just have to look for it.