You never know what's going on in Iraq

There was more grim news out of Iraq on Sunday:

[A] standoff began at dusk Sunday when militants wearing suicide vests and armed with grenades attacked the nearby Iraqi stock exchange and then entered the nearby Our Lady of Deliverance church — one of Baghdad's main Catholic places of worship — taking about 120 Christians hostage.

And things didn't end all that well:

Iraqi forces stormed the church after a tense hours-long standoff, freeing the hostages...Fifty-two hostages and police were killed...It was not immediately clear whether the hostages died at the hands of the attackers or during the rescue.

Below is an ITV report on this story:



Here is the problem -- as this story unfolded yesterday, Iraqi officials were trying desperately to distort the casualty figure. At first there were no reports of any deaths. Later on there were rumours of only a handful of deaths. The article explains:

The casualty information came from police and officials at hospitals where the dead and wounded were taken. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Moreover, there is conflicting information even with regards to the number of attackers:

There were conflicting accounts about the number of attackers involved in the assault, with Baghdad military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi saying Sunday night that security forces killed eight, while the U.S. military said between five and seven died.
Two police officers on the scene, however, say only three attackers were killed and another seven arrested afterwards.

Iraqi officials have a vested interest in covering up their mistakes. The country is still largely unstable, and those in power wish to maintain their authority at any cost. This has been the key problem to the war all along -- you simply cannot impose a system of values onto a society that has few internal resources to maintain them.

The situation in Iraq is a mess right now -- after the controversial parliamentary elections in March, a government has yet to be formed. Incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki refuses to give up power even though his party came in second place in terms of total seats.

The American government enjoys playing up the idea that the Iraq War is "over", but the reality is far different. Yet as the media its attention elsewhere, few may notice if the country's "democratic" infrastructure crumbles.