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The disjuncture of two worlds......

Whilst the politicians talk about progress in Iraq - albeit slowly and whatever that all means anyway - the reality on the ground is another matter altogether. There is an obvious disconnect between what the military are saying, the politicians pronouncing and the people of Iraq experiencing. The latest revelatory piece on Iraq and the way the Americans act there - see the link to The Nation piece here - is no less than horrific.

TomDispatch [reproduced on truthout.com] has this piece looking at the "disjuncture" of what the US is doing in Iraq and what is actually happening in the country itself:

"Thousands of stories to tell - and no one to listen.
"In violence we forget who we are"
- Mary McCarthy, novelist and critic

1. Statistically Speaking

Having spent a fair amount of time in occupied Iraq, I now find living in the United States nothing short of a schizophrenic experience. Life in Iraq was traumatizing. It was impossible to be there and not be affected by apocalyptic levels of violence and suffering, unimaginable in this country.

But here's the weird thing: One long, comfortable plane ride later and you're in Disneyland, or so it feels on returning to the United States. Sometimes it seems as if I'm in a bubble here that's only moments away from popping. I find myself perpetually amazed at the heights of consumerism and the vigorous pursuit of creature comforts that are the essence of everyday life in this country - and once defined my own life as well.

Here, for most Americans, you can choose to ignore what our government is doing in Iraq. It's as simple as choosing to go to a website other than this one.

The longer the occupation of Iraq continues, the more conscious I grow of the disparity, the utter disjuncture, between our two worlds."

Read the full piece here.

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