Haider Ajinas is an American of Iraqi and German parentage who lives in northern California. His father and uncle are in Iraq, and Haider believes that American news coverage of the situation there is one-sided and grossly misleading. He has sent us some photos and information about developments in Iraq that we will be posting from time to time. Also, Haider is fluent in Arabic, and tells us that there are important developments in the Arab world that are going completely unreported in the American press, many of them positive. We look forward to bringing you his translations of important news stories in the Arab press.

Press accounts of the performance of Iraqi soldiers has been mixed, at best. Few of those who ridicule the Iraqi soldiers, however, have faced danger as they have. The photo below shows an Iraqi soldier with Iraq's flag across his back. It appeared in an Iraqi newspaper; the caption says: "Guard & Look out: Iraqi solder from the national guard at a check point in the Iraqi capital after a gun fight."

The determination of most Iraqi guardsmen to fight for their country's freedom is an inspiring story, but it is one that the American media prefer not to tell. Not until after November 2, anyway.

I know it's not an entirely fair comparison, but I can't resist juxtaposing the Iraqi soldier, draped in his country's flag after surviving a firefight, with this shot of John Kerry playing his guitar on his campaign plane earlier today:

In the Presidential debates, Kerry ridiculed the contributions of the Iraqi National Guard, and refused to count the sacrifice of Iraqi citizens in his tabulation of the burden borne by Americans. I think it is fair to ask: who is serious about defeating terrorism and advancing the cause of freedom, John Kerry or the Iraqi soldiers who are putting their lives on the line to defeat terrorism?