Baghdad visit disruptive, inaccurate

A delegation of U.S. Congressmen, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., swept into a Baghdad… A delegation of U.S. Congressmen, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., swept into a Baghdad market over the weekend, to see how new security plans were working first hand.

It was a typical day in the central Baghdad market – armored Humvees, re-routed traffic, rooftop snipers, restricted access, numerous attack helicopters overhead and more than 100 armed soldiers, which, incidentally, is about as many soldiers as you’d find in an entire company. The envoy was also sporting the latest in Iraqi fashion – bulletproof vests, button-up shirts and khakis.

Throw in some rainbows and puppies, and you’d have the perfect Iraqi afternoon. Republican Rep. Mike Pence even went as far as describing the scene and people as “a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime.”

That’s a nice thought – but we find it hard to believe that the visit, especially with all that military presence, was so picturesque.

Actually, merchants at the market considered the conditions of the visit pretty “abnormal,” according to The New York Times. They went on to describe the scene as “paralyzed,” and they feared that all the attention would only make their market more of a target for violence.

It seems as if we’ve entered that final stage of battle in Iraq: the photo op.

In this stage, politicians show up unannounced in the war zone in question to show that it really is a nice, safe place to be. And we guess the McCain crew achieved the goal of portraying Baghdad as a safe place – that is, if you have a full security detail and wear a bulletproof vest. Maybe they think that even if the area is completely unsafe, they can make it look safe with a couple of well-posed pictures at markets among the people.

Unfortunately, this pathetic attempt at conjuring up some positive press has only highlighted the abnormality of their visit, causing us to further believe that Iraq is a lost cause.

How do you show that people that Iraq is safe? Do what real Iraqis do. Take a walk down the street or stroll through a market with a guard or two (a luxury that most Iraqis don’t have), and then you might be able to vouch for the safety of the area.

Sound too dangerous? Our point exactly.

If you can’t actually make things safer in Iraq, don’t try to make it look like it is – too many people are confusing reality with what they see on television.

We highly doubt a heavily controlled visit to a Baghdad market is reminiscent of Indiana in the summer – or maybe we’ve been missing the roaming death squads trampling the lawns of the Midwest.

When McCain is willing to show up at an Iraqi market without a bulletproof vest and an entire security detail, maybe, maybe we’ll believe that Iraq is a safe place.