Rice's Finger Wagging and the Real Problem in Iraq
I see that the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is lecturing the Iraqi government to do more to stop the escalating violence in Iraq. Like an overwrought, irritated schoolmarm, Condi wagged her finger at the Iraqi parliament this week, accusing them of not "doing their homework" and not behaving like "good children". This is a little like a police officer telling a rape victim "You didn't do enough to stop your attacker and furthermore, you know, your skirt is so short that I can see why he went after you!".
Let me pose these questions to Secretary Rice and the American people. Do you REALLY believe that members of the Iraqi government are purposefully aiding and abetting the chaos and violence in their country? Do you REALLY think they would not stop the violence right this minute if they could? Do you REALLY think that they are not sickened by what they see happening to their country? More importantly, do you REALLY think the Iraqi parliament truly has the support of the Iraqi people?
Let me also ask you, do you REALLY think, in your heart of hearts, that the Iraqi parliament has enough people under its command to restore order, whether they be Iraqi security forces, US troops, UN peacekeepers, or all of the above? Do you REALLY think Iraqi security forces are well enough trained to handle any kind of organized or even random events of unrest when even the US military cannot? Iraqi security forces barely seem to be able to control traffic in Baghdad and their recruits and recruiting stations seem to constantly be getting blown up in large numbers.
And, do you REALLY think the Iraqi parliament and their security forces have access to, and enough of the right the kind of communications facilities and networks and are well equipped enough with arms and the types of security/military vehicles needed to respond to serious violent outbreaks? It is widely recognized that even the US military is not adequately equipped to do the job? Do you REALLY think the Iraqi intelligence agency is well enough organized and equipped that it can find out about and squelch potential plots of violence against the State before they happen? And do you REALLY think the Iraqi justice system is capable of handling any kind of sectarian, violence-related caseload? I mean it cannot even try Saddam Hussein a known torturer and genocidal killer!!!! All of the above posed questions can be answered with one word............"NO"!
So, if you have a weak, powerless, group of people in a room who: (1) have no resources; (2) who were installed in a form of government unfamiliar to, and unappreciated by the general population; (3) who are perceived by their people as puppets of a foreign power; (4) who have friends and families that are living in one of most dangerous places on Earth; and (5) who know that they, or their loved ones, are potential targets of kidnappers and killers who have no compunctions about torturing and/or maiming their victims before killing them, how can you expect them to be able to DO anything, even if they WANTED TO!!!!
Listen, the US caused all the present strife in Iraq and now they want to distance themselves from the horrible mess they have caused by blaming the victim, as the US mid-term election approaches. I am well aware that Saddam Hussein was a mad, nasty, brutish, and self-centered despot who subjected his people to repression of the most hideous sort. However, average Iraqis, for the most part, as long as they kept their head down and did not draw attention to themselves, lived in relative safety and, though there was a lot of fear. At least they could walk and drive safely around Baghdad and most of the country. Even at its most repressive, the Hussein regime was not responsible for the scale of killing and violence going on in the country today. So you have to ask: "Is Iraq better off now or when Hussein was in power? " I hate to say it, but the Iraqi people were much better off before......even under the Saddam regime AND after the US-lead effort to impose sanctions forced the country into poverty.
Although it presents its own set of problems, sometimes even a repressive strongman is better left in charge than having a foreign power come in and impose an unfamiliar form of government on a country, especially a form of government that was not brought on by the will of the people living there. If the majority of the Iraqis did not have the cultural bearings or were not at the stage in their society where they were willing to rise up against Hussein and die to make their country a democracy and fight for their liberty, it is no surprise that they do not now feel obligated to try and defend it. This is especially true, given all the violence, sectarian division, chaos, and murder that has resulted from the US' well-intentioned, but badly informed and badly managed effort to install a governmental regime that Iraq is not culturally, intellectually, or viscerally ready for, or committed to. Looking into my crystal ball, I see the future of Iraq, 5 or 10 years down the road.........not as a democracy, but in the hands of another strongman......or possibly split up into small sectors, each under the control of its own strongman, most probably an Imam. So what has the US actually accomplished?
American dog.... GO HOME! You have done enough damage. Yes, you will be leaving behind a mess and human suffering of extraordinary dimensions that will tarnish your legacy and America and the American people for decades to come. And yes, you are completely and directly responsible for all the bloodshed and humanitarian crises that exist there now............ But there is nothing you can do about it. There is no repairing the situation.
Thanks to the US, Iraq has been thrown into a void of security and leadership and the people living there are just going to have to find their own way. The people in Iraq are going to have to stand up and fight and scratch their way to a new order. Maybe the country will split into three parts, maybe it will be come a no-man's land of chaos and a breeding ground of anarchy and terrorism for decades. Whatever happens, though, it will be the will of the Iraqi peoples or of individuals in the region who are willing to risk everything to come to power and reap the rewards of their efforts, either in terms of their own self-interest, in terms of their religious zeal, or perhaps, though less likely, in terms of their interest for the general population.
In terms of a democratic government? Only when the REAL Iraqi people (and this means the people in the streets, in the towns, in the villages, and all of the peasants in the mountains and countryside who are living their everyday lives) decide they want an "American" style of government and American values, will it happen. Bush and America should remember that old adage. You can lead a horse to water..............
Let me pose these questions to Secretary Rice and the American people. Do you REALLY believe that members of the Iraqi government are purposefully aiding and abetting the chaos and violence in their country? Do you REALLY think they would not stop the violence right this minute if they could? Do you REALLY think that they are not sickened by what they see happening to their country? More importantly, do you REALLY think the Iraqi parliament truly has the support of the Iraqi people?
Let me also ask you, do you REALLY think, in your heart of hearts, that the Iraqi parliament has enough people under its command to restore order, whether they be Iraqi security forces, US troops, UN peacekeepers, or all of the above? Do you REALLY think Iraqi security forces are well enough trained to handle any kind of organized or even random events of unrest when even the US military cannot? Iraqi security forces barely seem to be able to control traffic in Baghdad and their recruits and recruiting stations seem to constantly be getting blown up in large numbers.
And, do you REALLY think the Iraqi parliament and their security forces have access to, and enough of the right the kind of communications facilities and networks and are well equipped enough with arms and the types of security/military vehicles needed to respond to serious violent outbreaks? It is widely recognized that even the US military is not adequately equipped to do the job? Do you REALLY think the Iraqi intelligence agency is well enough organized and equipped that it can find out about and squelch potential plots of violence against the State before they happen? And do you REALLY think the Iraqi justice system is capable of handling any kind of sectarian, violence-related caseload? I mean it cannot even try Saddam Hussein a known torturer and genocidal killer!!!! All of the above posed questions can be answered with one word............"NO"!
So, if you have a weak, powerless, group of people in a room who: (1) have no resources; (2) who were installed in a form of government unfamiliar to, and unappreciated by the general population; (3) who are perceived by their people as puppets of a foreign power; (4) who have friends and families that are living in one of most dangerous places on Earth; and (5) who know that they, or their loved ones, are potential targets of kidnappers and killers who have no compunctions about torturing and/or maiming their victims before killing them, how can you expect them to be able to DO anything, even if they WANTED TO!!!!
Listen, the US caused all the present strife in Iraq and now they want to distance themselves from the horrible mess they have caused by blaming the victim, as the US mid-term election approaches. I am well aware that Saddam Hussein was a mad, nasty, brutish, and self-centered despot who subjected his people to repression of the most hideous sort. However, average Iraqis, for the most part, as long as they kept their head down and did not draw attention to themselves, lived in relative safety and, though there was a lot of fear. At least they could walk and drive safely around Baghdad and most of the country. Even at its most repressive, the Hussein regime was not responsible for the scale of killing and violence going on in the country today. So you have to ask: "Is Iraq better off now or when Hussein was in power? " I hate to say it, but the Iraqi people were much better off before......even under the Saddam regime AND after the US-lead effort to impose sanctions forced the country into poverty.
Although it presents its own set of problems, sometimes even a repressive strongman is better left in charge than having a foreign power come in and impose an unfamiliar form of government on a country, especially a form of government that was not brought on by the will of the people living there. If the majority of the Iraqis did not have the cultural bearings or were not at the stage in their society where they were willing to rise up against Hussein and die to make their country a democracy and fight for their liberty, it is no surprise that they do not now feel obligated to try and defend it. This is especially true, given all the violence, sectarian division, chaos, and murder that has resulted from the US' well-intentioned, but badly informed and badly managed effort to install a governmental regime that Iraq is not culturally, intellectually, or viscerally ready for, or committed to. Looking into my crystal ball, I see the future of Iraq, 5 or 10 years down the road.........not as a democracy, but in the hands of another strongman......or possibly split up into small sectors, each under the control of its own strongman, most probably an Imam. So what has the US actually accomplished?
American dog.... GO HOME! You have done enough damage. Yes, you will be leaving behind a mess and human suffering of extraordinary dimensions that will tarnish your legacy and America and the American people for decades to come. And yes, you are completely and directly responsible for all the bloodshed and humanitarian crises that exist there now............ But there is nothing you can do about it. There is no repairing the situation.
Thanks to the US, Iraq has been thrown into a void of security and leadership and the people living there are just going to have to find their own way. The people in Iraq are going to have to stand up and fight and scratch their way to a new order. Maybe the country will split into three parts, maybe it will be come a no-man's land of chaos and a breeding ground of anarchy and terrorism for decades. Whatever happens, though, it will be the will of the Iraqi peoples or of individuals in the region who are willing to risk everything to come to power and reap the rewards of their efforts, either in terms of their own self-interest, in terms of their religious zeal, or perhaps, though less likely, in terms of their interest for the general population.
In terms of a democratic government? Only when the REAL Iraqi people (and this means the people in the streets, in the towns, in the villages, and all of the peasants in the mountains and countryside who are living their everyday lives) decide they want an "American" style of government and American values, will it happen. Bush and America should remember that old adage. You can lead a horse to water..............
