Terrorists murdered another Baghdad authority, this time the deputy police chief and his son. As with the assassination of Baghdad Province's governor, Iraq's enemies have done little to halt the nation's progress towards pluralist democracy:
Far from Madison Avenue — in more ways than one — television commercials are emerging as a crucial element in Iraq's landmark Jan. 30 election. The first partisan spots ran last week, produced and aired for free on U.S.-backed Al Iraqiya, the sole channel based in Iraq that broadcasts nationwide. Bolder still, the Iraqi List, the election slate headed by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, is buying prime-time spots on satellite and local channels....Al Iraqiya started airing blocks of free candidate commercials Jan. 1. The initial ads promoted two independent candidacies and four slates, among them the Democratic Gathering of Two Rivers and the Democratic Society Movement, headed by former Governing Council spokesman Hamid Kifae.
...Sharif Ali bin Hussein, leader of the Constitutional Monarchy Movement, said he would tape a free spot for Al Iraqiya but could not afford to buy TV time and thought doing so might be premature. "We need to catch the moment when the voter is making his decision, which is not yet," he said. "It will be quite late, I would guess. It will be in the last 10 days." For now, he is focusing on campaign appearances, posters and text-messaging potential supporters on their cellphones.
A few skeptics dismiss the commercials' politically approved character — cheap, plain and benign — as a turnoff for Iraqi voters. But it's doubtful any of these critics have lived most of their lives with little more on the television than two state channels frequently airing endless hours of a bloviating Saddam Hussein. For the first time in their lives (the 1932-1958 Hashemite monarchy tolerated an attenuated parliament) Iraqis have a right to free, personal expression on a national broadcast and a right to elect their peers based on those statements. Their enthusiasm should not be underestimated.
Taking a slight turn, USAID continues to help Iraqis reclaim their country's immense natural resources from decades of Saddamite and Ba'athist abuse. Agriculture is just one of sixteen categories of capital improvement and civil cultivation:
Summer and Winter Crop Technology Demonstrations: These demonstrations are introducing farmers to new technologies and techniques through extension field days. Animal Health: Several veterinary clinics in Kirkuk, Fallujah, and other cities are being renovated and a grant has been made for dipping tanks to improve sheep health and wool. Technology Support: The Ministry of Agriculture and a major university's schools of Agriculture and Veterinary Science have been awarded grants to furnish and equip computer centers, improving research capabilities and consulting capacity. Date Palm Propagation: In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, 40,000 elite date palm offshoots are being used to establish mother orchards in 13 governorates as part of a multiplication program and the establishment of a national register of elite varieties. Agriculture Sector Transition Plan: This plan, completed in mid-April, addresses the short-term recovery of agricultural infrastructure as well as medium and long-term implementation of policies to develop a market-based agricultural economy.
A capitalist, democratic Iraq promises to be an economic, scientific and cultural powerhouse; the most powerful means against authoritarianism in the form of a peaceful, productive country. Is it too figurative to see a Fremen greening of Dune?