October 18, 2007

Representative Ike Skelton (D-Mo.)

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Mother Jones: How will the power shift in Iraq work, politically speaking?

Rep. Ike Skelton: The government has to assume its duties. I’m very disappointed in the government. It is disappointing that it hasn’t done hardly anything toward reconciliation, such as passing legislation. The parliament is a mess and the whole government is waiting to turn to worms.

MJ: Is there enough stability for the Maliki government to be replaced through an organized, constitutional process?

IS: Well, they had successful elections, but I suppose they will have future successful elections. They were secure, and I can’t see any reason to think you cannot have future elections equally so.

MJ: Do you think the Maliki government has much of a future?

IS: Not unless they get their act together.

MJ: Along the lines of passing legislation, what do you think are some key moves the Iraqi government needs to make to prepare for an American withdrawal?

IS: Well, of course, make sure their military assumes their security. Get their police force operating much better than it is today. Make sure parliament works and represents the people. It is a tough job. Reconciliation is difficult at best, but they are going to have to do it or the whole thing just collapses. Even if you had a huge success on the battlefield, it will be for naught unless the political arm gets its act together. Frankly, I’m very, very concerned about this.

MJ: Let me ask you about some of the things we leave behind in Iraq. What do we do with all of the prisoners who are in U.S. detention centers? What do we do with the military bases we’ve been using?

IS: The military bases are one thing. You can hope the Iraqi military will be in such good shape that they can assume security of their own country. We of course could leave some trainers and advisers there and of course some personnel to guard our embassy, our troops.

MJ: What about the detainees in U.S.-run detention centers?

IS: I don’t have a clue.

MJ: Okay, who makes that decision? Is it the military, the administration, I guess?

IS: Yes.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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