Our waste of 4,000 very good American lives was not "for Israel" but for both Iran that viewed Saddam as the instrument of the "Great Satan" US (Iran fed Chalabi the lies that he used to con us into going to war) and for George Bush #43 getting revenge on Saddam for trying to get a "hit" on George Bush #41.
It was not "war for oil" or politics but pure revenge.
The STUPIDITY of our State Department and CIA is that they didn't learn from Yugoslavia that when you have disparate cultures forged together by a criminal despot, when the despot dies all hell breaks loose as in Bosnia, Serbia, and all of the other pieces. Even Dick Cheney (Darth Vader) said in 1991 that if you got rid of Saddam would bring about a tremendous problem of creating a stable society to replacing his criminal infrastruture. In comparing Cheney to Darth Vader, most people still fail to realize the rest of the metaphor is that George Bush #43 is Darth Sidius.
And for the fools and fundamentalists who think our country can do no wrong, my "cred" is being a former Vietnam era Army Officer, life-long Republican (who trusted Bush #43 the first time and had no other choice the second time - Kerry is a bigger jerk), and Scoutmaster whose oldest son has had two tours in Iraq. If our country was a democracy based upon truth and law and order, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld would be in jail for "high crimes and misdemeanors."
Obviously we have learned NOTHING from the deaths of 56,000 good Americans in the Vietnam war.
At Last
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Interpreters are a higher priority these days, too. In the old days, I saw troops trying to warn residents of an impending curfew, unaware that their interpreter was just making small talk because he didn't know what the English word "curfew" meant until he asked me. On the ground, soldiers say they're taking a new approach to local residents because they realize that a happier, safer populace will kill fewer Americans and might stabilize the country. They see that giving safe passage for an enemy to come talk to them can yield more security than conducting sweeping raids.
The violence has dropped to, roughly, early-2005 levels--as a more open military is now willing to show in more timely charts. Mind you, that's down compared to the anarchic butchery of 2006 and early 2007--when gunmen in fleets of SUVs would block streets and kidnap dozens of workers at a time from their offices. And it has come in large part because many militias have chosen ceasefires as a political tactic. But that's part of counterinsurgency, too. Some point out that the troop "surge" hasn't hastened the day when all U.S. forces can go home or fixed the geopolitical mess created by an unstable Iraq. But the decrease translates into several hundred, perhaps a couple thousand, fewer Iraqis dying or maimed each month than before; fewer shrieking families and haunted stares. (For Western reporters, since people ask about that, it means we don't worry as much about our staff getting killed on the way to work, that we'll get stopped by militias posing as police or caught by chance in a large-scale attack on some sectarian target. But kidnappings are still a serious threat.)
The fact that more Iraqis get a chance at life matters in human terms alone and, if there's any moral component to foreign policy, should be factored into whatever decisions are made now. Iraqis, like any people, chafe at occupation and many want a U.S. pullout. But most also say it should not happen until America has provided for their security and prosperity. After all, they didn't ask to be invaded. And some just want a withdrawal because they believe their faction can seize control. Whatever America does, Iraqis say, don't neglect their needs. Don't sacrifice their safety for domestic politics or some power struggle with Iran.
Addressing those Iraqi aspirations and impulses will take clear-eyed realism, starting with recognition that the recent gains face great threats. As American reconstruction money dwindles, basic services like electricity and water are still dismal. An increase in bombings this month has inspired renewed fear. And when an explosion killed five American soldiers walking in Mansour this month, it struck a key tactic of the Petraeus doctrine. Walking lets soldiers talk to Iraqis, learn about their needs and collect tips about who might cause trouble. I'm not sure how to apply American concepts of "success" to the future of Iraq, and I think most people here just hope to salvage some normalcy. But if the bombers chase soldiers back into their armored vehicles to view Iraq through thick bulletproof glass, everyone loses.
© 2008
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