No Time for Heroes

The saddest element in Iraq for me was something I never anticipated; the nature of the conflict has left little room for to reward our troops for their heroism.

My opposition was based on traditional conservative realpolitik rejection of involvement in conflicts that did not involve vital threats to the country or its allies, that did not take into account the difficulty of the resistance (in this case the tribal and sectarian divides in Iraq), and the idea that we were taking our eye off of the ball of hunting down Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Since many Republicans, including the first Bush’s National Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft, were singing from the same hymnbook, I felt that I was in a small but not outlandish group.

As the war unfolded, I was shocked by our propaganda campaign that failed so badly in the Muslim world. Obviously, when we went into Iraq we lost credibility throughout Islam. But by failing to understand – or at least acknowledge - the nature of the opposition to our objectives, we ceded a great deal of legitimacy in that part of the world. By not granting anything beyond evil to our enemies, we gave them credibility with millions who when the attacks of 9/11 occurred were on our side or neutral.

While we are completely hostile to al Qaeda and are in a death struggle with them, by simply labeling them as evil doers and not granting them standing as an enemy with grievances, we gave them access to millions of sympathizers who might have been neutralized or won to our side. There is no doubt that there can be no compromise with al Qaeda; they are intent on killing as many Americans and Westerners as they can and on driving us from land they see as their own. But in labeling them simply evil, we strip them of their perceived legitimacy of driving the infidels (that’s us) from hallowed soil or in opposing regimes in the region that many Muslims find suspect at best.

A civilization that contains well over a billion human beings with a different mindset cannot be won over by calling those fighting in the name of their God simply evil. The vast majority of Muslims living inside and out of their recognized land do not believe in the al Qaeda agenda. But in setting up a black and white you’re with us or you’re against us scenario, the millions of Muslims who can see shades of gray are sent packing – at least sympathetically and symbolically - into the camp of our enemies.

Thus, we have vested the suicide bombers and agents of al Qaeda who die for their cause with an heroic status within that civilization that we cannot understand but that is real for a significant portion of the billion or more believers in Allah.

On our own side, the nature of the Iraq War today has left our marvelous troops with little cover. We view our service men and women as fighting against forces of evil, but the insurgency they face on a daily basis affords them little opportunity for traditional fighting. The deaths and wounding of our men and women are rarely in firefights where their mettle can be tested and rewarded. Daily, we learn that they depart from defended places and are simply blown up on their way. Driving from the compound is heroic in itself, but it doesn't show up that way anywhere. This is so sad.

Blog on!

Wild Bill