A Different Drummer

This NYT article about John McCain and co.'s recent visit to Baghdad makes for hilariously sad reading, particularly when it comes to the sheer reality gap between what happened and what was said regarding their visit to a Baghdad street market.....

"The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees — the equivalent of an entire company — and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior American military official in Baghdad said. The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.

'They paralyzed the market when they came,' Mr. Faiyad said during an interview in his shop on Monday. 'This was only for the media.'

He added, 'This will not change anything.'

At a news conference shortly after their outing, Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican, and his three Congressional colleagues described Shorja as a safe, bustling place full of hopeful and warmly welcoming Iraqis — 'like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime,' offered Representative Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican who was a member of the delegation."

This reminds me of the scene in Team America when peacenik Sean Penn tries to convince everyone that Iraq is just fine and doesn't need invading or regime change: "They had flowery meadows, and rainbow skies and rivers made of chocolate, where the children danced and laughed and played with gumdrop smiles."