Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Intelligence RhetIraq: The Situation in Baghdad
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Quotes: From July 7, 2006, article titled, "Baghdad: City of Shrinking Dreams"
A daily intelligence brief on Iraq, prepared by a private contractor for the U.S. military and companies working in Iraq, paints a grim picture of life in Baghdad. The daily report for July 7 documents a slew of sectarian attacks and car bombings around the capital and says that “the levels of torture and execution-style killings…illustrate the increasing disregard for human life by the perpetrators for those not of their own grouping.”
But the report, marked “for official use only,” also goes on to describe Baghdad as a city without spirit — in a long passage lifted straight from a popular Iraqi blog called Iraq the Model. “Baghdad looks so exhausted these days and so do her people; the relentless violence, the lack of basic services and the scorching heat abolishes human desire to do anything or to even think of anything,” says the daily report, which is compiled by SOC-SMG Inc., a Nevada-based contractor. The language of this and several other passages mirrors almost exactly a posting for the July 6 edition of Iraq the Model. “Living for many Iraqis was reduced to existence a long time ago; dreams and desires are shrinking under the heavy shadows of the situation.”
The company’s interim CEO, Robert Shields, said he was unaware of the overlap and would look into it. But “we draw information from a variety of sources,” he said.
Quotes: From July 7, 2006, article titled, "Baghdad: City of Shrinking Dreams"
A daily intelligence brief on Iraq, prepared by a private contractor for the U.S. military and companies working in Iraq, paints a grim picture of life in Baghdad. The daily report for July 7 documents a slew of sectarian attacks and car bombings around the capital and says that “the levels of torture and execution-style killings…illustrate the increasing disregard for human life by the perpetrators for those not of their own grouping.”
But the report, marked “for official use only,” also goes on to describe Baghdad as a city without spirit — in a long passage lifted straight from a popular Iraqi blog called Iraq the Model. “Baghdad looks so exhausted these days and so do her people; the relentless violence, the lack of basic services and the scorching heat abolishes human desire to do anything or to even think of anything,” says the daily report, which is compiled by SOC-SMG Inc., a Nevada-based contractor. The language of this and several other passages mirrors almost exactly a posting for the July 6 edition of Iraq the Model. “Living for many Iraqis was reduced to existence a long time ago; dreams and desires are shrinking under the heavy shadows of the situation.”
The company’s interim CEO, Robert Shields, said he was unaware of the overlap and would look into it. But “we draw information from a variety of sources,” he said.
