Iraq's Prospects Seem As Grim As Its Recent Pastby Lourdes Garcia-Navarro
July 7, 2010
On the Fourth of July, Vice President Joe Biden presided in Iraq over a naturalization ceremony for U.S. service members. It has become a yearly ritual and a touching one. More than 150 men and women serving in the armed forces became U.S. citizens, to the ecstatic applause of their comrades in arms.
The setting was opulent al-Faw Palace, where most U.S. military events are held. Its soaring marble rotunda is crowned by one of the biggest chandeliers in the world. Surrounding al-Faw are the man-made lakes and bridges that Saddam Hussein built for himself and his family as a private reserve.
Since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, this is the nerve center of the American military in Iraq, and one of the most secure locations in the country, requiring a military escort simply to move around.
In his speech to the assembled troops, Biden said that the fact that an American citizenship ceremony was being held there was a sign of the democracy America's war had brought to Iraq.If you walk out the palace doors, and onto the hot dusty streets like I and many of my colleagues do everyday, you'll meet Iraqis who are worried about what comes next.
unhappycamper comment: Have some American Democracy, suckers: