UPDATED: Real Iraq Reality, and Real News on ‘Surging’ McCain

(10 pm – promoted by ek hornbeck)

I posted part 1 yesterday. Updated Wednesday, August 06, 2008



In this update today, an Iraqi journalist continues his series of video reports of the ‘real’ reality on the ground in Iraq, with part 2…

Baghdad, 5 years on (part 2): killing fields

One Baghdad’s killings fields on the edge of Sadr City. The scene of thousands of sectarian murders over the last three years, it is a desolate and evil place: ‘Only the killers and the killed ever come here’ says Abdul-Ahad. Here in the thousands of unmarked graves lie the victims of militia gangs. Video by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad.

4 min 28 sec

An Iraqi journalist begins a series of video reports of the ‘real’ reality on the ground in Iraq, with…

Baghdad, 5 years on (part 1): City of walls

US claims that the military surge is bringing stability to Iraq. By travelling through the heart of Baghdad its easy to see by enclosing the Sunni and Shia populations behind 12ft walls, the surge has left the city more divided and desperate than ever.

4 min 37 sec

On the flip… Pepe Escobar of Asia Times deconstructs and shreds the sole foundation of McCain’s presidential campaign…

9 min 25 sec – ‘Surging’ McCain

Part 1 of this report examines McCain’s position in relation to the Iraq war, his decision to hedge his bets regarding the success of the surge and his interpretation of the surge’s “success.” Analyst for The Real News, Pepe Escobar compares McCain’s interpretation to the many overlapping political and military facts on the ground in Iraq before and during the surge.

Pepe Escobar, born in Brazil is the roving correspondent for Asia Times and an analyst for The Real News Network. He’s been a foreign correspondent since 1985, based in London, Milan, Los Angeles, Paris, Singapore, and Bangkok. Since the late 1990s, he has specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central Asia, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has made frequent visits to Iran and is the author of Globalistan and also Red Zone Blues: A Snapshot of Baghdad During the Surge both published by Nimble Books in 2007.