Time Magazine has some advice for Obama (who is planning a little trip):
Still, there are a few ways Obama can reach out to ordinary Iraqis and make his trip more meaningful.
First, he should invite a group of Baghdad journalists — mostly Iraqis, but also a few Westerners who’ve been in Iraq for several years — for a chat. This would not be a press conference; Obama would be asking all the questions. The majority of journalists live in the Red Zone and see much more of Iraqi life than anybody in the Iraqi government or the U.S. embassy. Iraqi journalists don’t need to “embed” with U.S. troops in order to get to dangerous districts like Sadr City or Amariyah — they live in those neighborhoods, and they could tell Obama a lot more about the Iraqi condition than he could glean from any number of official briefings.
The advice is good.
I still remember, and always will, the time George W. Bush visited the Green Zone briefly while I was there. I wasn’t allowed in the Palace because I didn’t want to give up my pistol to walk through and get to my hooch. And that was one little symptom of what’s wrong with our mentality in America.
I don’t think Obama is going to do much good for this country I adopted, but I’ll take what I can get. If he listens to Time Mr. Obama will visit with people who live in the Red Zone while he is in Iraq.
If there’s not enough time to organize such a meeting, there’s one surefire way Obama can meet Iraqis. At the main entrances to the Green Zone, there’s almost always a long queue of folks waiting to get in, usually to visit a government office or a member of Parliament. Once they get past the elaborate security checks, they’re usually made to wait on the lawns of the building that serves as Iraq’s Parliament. It would be relatively easy for Obama to send a member of his entourage, accompanied by an Iraqi translator, to invite a random selection of these Iraqis for an informal chat — few would turn down the chance to meet him.
If Obama is too scared or too controlled to go to one of the major checkpoints, then he should be able to get on the buses that run from point to point within the Green Zone. Those buses are populated by a mix of contractors, soldiers and Red Zone folks, and could provide our next President with a real viewpoint from someone who actually has to suffer the consequences of the occupation.
I’m expecting that this will be a typical political visit, however. My belief is that Obama represents business as usual.