What Europeans See of the Iraq Occupation

One of the links I've included in my Favorite Sites is to the English-language site of the respected German news magazine Der Spiegel. This site provides American readers a good opportunity to see the kinds of news reports German readers see, that present things in a way one will not likely encounter on Fox News. These are English translations of articles from the magazine's main German edition.

This one, for instance, presents a gloomy picture of the state of the occupation in Iraq after the attack on the UN office two weeks ago. In some ways, the matter-of-fact tone is more telling than the news itself, which a careful reader can wring out of mainstream American news sources:

The damage this suicide bomber has caused in Baghdad goes well beyond the loss of human life. For the United Nations, the attack is a tragedy, but it's catastrophic for the White House. Yesterday's Blitzkrieg-like invaders who, with their unstoppable march on Baghdad, wanted to prove that no despot could ever feel safe again, are now faced with a new reality: that their bold plans for post-war Iraq have gone up in smoke, at least for now.

Most of all, this devastating attack, which took place in broad daylight in Baghdad, demonstrates that in Iraq terrorists can strike wherever and whenever they wish. "The civilized world will not be intimidated," announced a visibly agitated US President George W. Bush. ...

German diplomats are talking nice about Colin Powell's new proposed UN resolution. That's what diplomats do. But until the European public and policy-makers can see a different picture of the American occupation than this, don't count on major military help from them.

- Posted by Bruce Miller 09/04/03

Tags: iraq war