Posted on 12/12/2005 8:17:57 AM PST by Valin
Last night I spoke to the parents of a soldier who had just been seriously wounded by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad, where the Army battalion I command is based. They asked me about the war’s progress. (Amidst their anguish over insurgents drawing blood from their son, they were concerned about our mission, our calling as a nation!) I described the advances we’ve witnessed since arriving, and when I was done my soldier’s mother said, “We need to hear this…. We don’t get these things on the news!”
Many Americans are asking, “Are we making progress?” Critics back home admit the October 15 election was a success, but note the violence continues.
None of that is news to me. Two days ago, a suicide bomber exploded her car in front of a girls’ school in my area just as classes were ending. It’s a miracle that the blast wounded none of the Iraqi students and only one soldier lightly.
As I walked the scene, I was disgusted by the grotesque reality of someone blowing herself literally to bits to terrify others. Nothing but unadulterated evil could explain it. This was not Iraqi patriotism at work, or a response to anything our nation has done. This was a fanatic recruited from outside Iraq and put up to a “martyrdom” mission by sadistic planners.
This attack is typical of the stories you hear on the news. And this steady drip of carnage beats on American consciences. Shown only these acts of evil, citizens ask, “What are we doing there?”
The area around Tarmiya where we operate is a Sunni region home to many former regime members, weapons scientists, military officers, and extremist Wahabis. While Iraq’s January 2005 election was a dramatic success nationally, recalcitrant Sunnis in my area (and other parts of the country) tried to disrupt the democratic process by refusing to participate. No one in my zone voted.
Shortly after my second tour began in February, I argued passionately to local leaders that it was in their interest not to obstruct elections, but to compete politically. By summer, the local Sunnis were entering the political process.
But then the Iraqi election commission told them they wouldn’t have polling stations in their area for the October constitutional referendum, because the region was too dangerous. They didn’t quit. With coaching from American soldiers, they pressed for polling stations.
Finally the election commission relented. They said, “Fine, you hire the election workers, you ensure security, you run things.” And that’s exactly what they did, resulting in high-80 percent participation in the October 15 ballot.
Critics point out that most Sunnis voted “no” on the constitution. That’s true. But they voted; they admitted their mistake and invested themselves in Iraqi politics. They’re now working hard to place local leaders in the December 15 election, with a goal of seating officials who will modify the constitution to their taste. That is called democracy.
The attacks do continue, and I’m appalled at the local culture of insidious violence that seeks power for selfish and extremist ends. These habits will change only slowly. The insurgents have much to lose: neighboring countries involving themselves across Iraq’s borders fear democracy on their flanks; religious extremists loathe outside influence over their “flocks”; former regime members hunger for their old dictatorial powers.
But this fight is on their turf. We’ve abandoned our semi-tolerant, business-as-usual approach to the Middle East, and determined that the only lasting antidote to terror is to help Middle Easterners drive out extremists themselves, through democratic reform. That will take time; it’s critical for us to understand that success will come through incremental improvements over a course of years. But even a moderately successful Iraq will send—already is sending—giant ripples across the Middle East.
Is there a cost? Yes! I see it every day. Each time I attend a memorial service for one of our heroes, the emotion inside makes me painfully aware of the sacrifices made by America’s sons and daughters on behalf of liberty and against evil.
But I experience other emotions as well. These last two days, I observed three very different sets of women. One, the car-bomb driver, is dead for an evil cause. She was a failure.
Then there’s my wounded soldier’s mom. She’s feeling the pain inflicted on his 23-year-old body. But she is bearing it, as part of her investment in the honor of her son.
And she accepted his sacrifice on behalf of another group of women: the young Iraqi girls who watched horror explode as they left school, and then saw noble American men spring to battle it. Our soldiers are the best hope for those girls. And they are our best chance to make sure similar horrors, like we witnessed on September 11, don’t happen again in the U.S.
As my soldier lay in pain on the hospital gurney, the doctor explained to him that he would need emergency surgery and then many months to heal. As he grimaced in discomfort, he said, “O.K., sir, so I guess I’ll have to suck it up for the next several months. I got it. Let’s get to it!”
We as a nation must do the same. A full healing of Middle East wounds will take years, not months. So let’s get to it.
LTC Eric Wesley leads the 1st Battalion of the 13th Armored Regiment. This article originally appeared in the January/February 2006 issue of The American Enterprise.
WOW!! Excellent post Valin. Thanks for putting GOOD NEWS out there!
Awesome article....another of our great commanders, great troops, and great families.
Ping
I saw the last part of the Fox special, and it was very good. The sunnis remain the problem.
Speaking of enemies to mankind, Lisa Meyers over on NBC spent her time posing in front of cemetery tombstones, and we can count on the Associated Press to run its daily gloom & doom "news articles" on Iraq.
WOW
Thanks for the ping!
Bless you for your labors, Calpernia. Thanks from a grateful retiree.
Thanks for the ping!
Good Stuff; the truth will out ~ Bump!
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