Braver than Bush - but who isn't?

Remember that Group that went to visit Baghdad?

East Valley restaurateur Mike Lopercio is part of a human rights group delegation to Iraq, grabbing a firsthand look at life after the war. He has serious concerns about the lack of progress with reconstruction and is stunned with the differences between the Iraq seen on the television news and the Iraq he sees by walking the streets.

"What you see on the TV doesn't really brace you for what's here," he said in an interview this week. "The town is barricaded up, tanks rolling down the street. Visually, it's arresting. It's shocking."

...Postwar Iraq is the two hospitals he visited that didn't have any drugs, or the schools that don't have lights or heat. Some neighborhoods have trash and sewage in the street. Cars line up for blocks waiting for gas. All the while, Iraqi frustration is high.

He said many residents feel they were promised a better way of life once Saddam Hussein's regime fell, but that hasn't materialized.

"They're just totally frustrated. They really feel like they were conned. That's what we're hearing over and over," he said. "People are PO'd. They're so grateful that we got rid of Saddam . . . but we've bungled it so badly since the war itself.

"I don't want to be painted as an anti-war activist," he said. "I'm just a guy who wanted to learn more about what's happening. . . . If I can add some perspective and illumination for people who have sons and daughters and husbands and wives over here, then that would be a great thing.

"There's more to the story than shootings and explosions," he said. "It's the evolution and the redevelopment."

... When she greets her husband, Cindy [Lopercio] will find him carrying a fresh perspective, and disappointment at what continues to capture many Americans' attention.

"If we're not making progress, the troops aren't coming home," he said of the need to rebuild and stabilize Iraq. "We're watching Kobe Bryant. We're watching Michael Jackson. We're not focused on what I think could be the biggest story of our generation."   article

Well, some of us are, Mike. Thanks for the help.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.