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["Don Rua" <rua AT mindspring.com>]

>>>Anyway, my $0.02
>>~Ian

And I do appreciate it, and all contributors. Sometimes I write along a path I'm not even sure I agree with, because it asks questions of the community I find interesting.

Rowland said...

 

>>>>I can agree that strategy doesn't always travel in a straight line, but we appear to be executing a strategy that travels all the way around the world and then straight up our own ass.

 

That's funny. It made me guffaw, I'm not being facetious.

I believe our long term strategy could pay dividends in human life and liberty, IF we can complete mission, but our tactics have been quite inadequate. It's great to think maybe Kerry would have better tactics, but if he doesn't even agree with the mission, it can spell disaster. Part of being hopeful of a happy ending, is knowing how deep our commitment is.  The extent to which you are confident in your ability to accomplish a personal goal, is a product of how deep your commitment level and resources are. If America is weak willed, the mission will be a failure. If America is determined, come hell or high water, to provide enough stability for Iraq to get on it's feet as a nation, I'm confident that success will come. I peg that amount of time as 10-20 years. One of Washington's chief wishes was that America avoid conflict for 20 years, to give us time to grow. Order was maintained in Germany for decades, and now they have a vibrant economy and people controlling their own destiny. Is Germany our puppet because we occupied them? Hardly. If the War of 1812 had started in 1786, we probably would have lost quickly. With neighbors like Syria and Iran, the Iraqi people need our strength, or hundreds of thousands could be slaughtered in Middle East war.

 

>>>We aren't teaching the Iraqi people to fish.  We're teaching them how to kill.

 

Sorry, but I respectfully couldn't disagree more. Saddam ruled with an iron fist. He set the example by shooting off guns on camera, the model dictator in his General garb. The Iraqi people knew full well how to kill, and how to die. I realize I'm in the minority, but I'm not judging what the long term learning will be based on a year of truck bombings. I don't believe the beheadings and terrorism is what the people of Iraq want. There were afraid of Saddam, and I believe they are afraid of the terrorists for the same reason. Once they feel they can live and speak without retaliation, without their daughters being raped, their shops burned, and their sons murdered, I believe they are interested in 'getting on with life', not attacking the US.

Read the blog excerpt below from an Iraqi dentist. Imagine generations receiving a lifetime of paranoia, fear, and isolation from global information. How can anyone possible think an entire nation can be re-educated in 12 months? We are trying to establish order, so the Iraqi's can begin to learn and teach themselves, so they can reverse a lifetime of subjugation. That takes a long, long time, and even longer when half our country keeps asking how soon we can give up the mission.

"Remember that you are completely blocked from the outside world, you only read newspapers and books allowed by the government, the rest are censored. You only watch state-sponspored tv channels. Websites that are 'unacceptable' are blocked by state-sponspored Internet providers. The government tells you that 'this is for your own good', they protect you from 'the other' which is trying to poison your thoughts, undermine your faith, and destroy your traditions. Your fellow countrymen who inadvertently step over the lines are strictly 'punished' by the state because they have become 'spies' and 'agents'. Anyone else who dares to ask for more liberties, reforms, who criticises or acts against the ruler/government/state is an enemy acting on behalf of Zionists and imperialists, or is part of a grand plan (that has been planned for centuries) against 'the revolution' or the historical role of the ummah/Caliph/Sultan/ruler/government/state." http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/ (There's a large list of other Iraqi blogs there too.)

 

"Despite what you see in the Arab world from people bashing the American 'occupation' of Iraq, the truth is that they all desire the same in their hearts and minds, because deep inside they all know that they have all been occupied for years by their own regimes. And they are yearning for their freedom. Most of what you see is really Arab regimes speaking, not the people." letter to www.buzzmachine.com


Don