Not a Day for Soft Power

WHILE NEW ORLEANS REMAINS A GRIM HARD-POWER SLOG, A SILVER LINING APPEARS IN THE SUNNI TRIANGLE.


It's been a bad couple of days for soft power. Hard power seems to be the only thing that counts in the Battle of New Orleans, and nearly everyone's reputation is taking a beating: Louisiana is blaming the feds, the feds are still blaming the hurricane, the New Orleans mayor and his citizens are blaming everybody.

While there is literally no silver lining along the U.S. Gulf Coast—there seem to be almost no heroes for televised news to find or amplify—there apparently is a silver lining in the story of the Baghdad bridge stampede.

A few days ago a large Shi'ite religious procession was wending its way through Iraq's capital, getting mortared along the way by (presumably Sunni) insurgents. Although the bombardment didn't deter the pilgrims, a rumor started that a suicide bomber was waiting in the crowd to detonate himself. Panic ensued on a bridge over the Euphrates and nearly 1,000 people were crushed—or drowned after jumping 30 feet into the river.

To my astonishment, and probably that of everyone in central Iraq, civilians in Fallujah, who almost certainly are Sunnis, have lined up to donate blood to help the injured Shi'ites. For more, see Baghdad Dweller, which refers to the Arabic-language Iraq4All News.