Iraq Was Supposed To Become Like The USA – But The Reverse Has Happened

The Stiletto ^ | October 25, 2006 | The Stiletto

[theothercheek]

New York Times columnist John Tierney fears that Iraqis will never put aside their differences to form a unified nation in which people "look on society as a collection of individuals working for the common good of the nation" (subscription required):

Iraqis bravely went to the polls and waved their purple fingers, but they voted along sectarian lines. Appeals to their religion trumped appeals to the national interest. And as the beleaguered police in Amara saw last week, religion gets trumped by … the clan.

The deadly battle in Amara wasn’t between Sunnis and Shiites, but between two Shiite clans that have feuded for generations. After one clan’s militia destroyed police stations and took over half the city, the Iraqi Army did not ride to the rescue.

Authorities regained control only after the clan leaders negotiated a truce.

When the U.S. invaded Iraq, American optimists invoked Germany and Japan as models for their democratization project, but Iraq didn’t have the cultural cohesion or national identity of those countries. … "In a modern state a citizen’s allegiance is to the state, but theirs is to their clan and their tribe," Ihsan M. al-Hassan, a sociologist at the University of Baghdad, warned three years ago. …

These allegiances explain why Iraqis don’t want to give up their local militias. They know it’s unrealistic to expect protection from a national force of soldiers or police officers from other clans, other regions, other religions. When the Iraqi Army ordered reinforcements to go help Americans keep peace in Baghdad, several Iraqi battalions deserted rather than risk their lives defending strangers.

As The Stiletto was reading Tierney’s analysis, it occurred to her that US society is devolving into tribalism – but instead of tribes being formed around clans, they are formed around political issues and ideologies. For instance, pro-abortion Americans only vote for pro-abortion candidates. And Dems are banking on opposition to the Iraq War bringing them like-minded voters who will not care that the party has no clue what it will do next if it captures Congress – except paralyze the Bush administration with endless probes and investigations.

Quoted in The Wall Street Journal’s Political Diary (subscription to e-mail newsletter required) on Lou Dobbs’ book, "War on the Middle Class," syndicated columnist Reuben Navarette, illustrates this dangerous, disheartening trend:

There are Americans who believe that this is still a country of unlimited opportunity for those who work hard and sacrifice. And there are others who are convinced that the deck is stacked against working men and women. There are those who believe that what works against some folks are not the bad breaks, but bad choices such as dropping out of high school or ambling through life without ambition. And there are others who believe that human beings are at the mercy of sinister forces beyond their control. If you fall into the first category, you're part of my America. If you're in the second, you're part of Lou Dobbs' America."

The Stiletto wistfully remembers a time when it wasn’t "my America" or "your America" but "our America" – especially when soldiers were in harm’s way. One nation, under G-d, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You know, the good ol' days.

[caver]

This article is just stating the obvious. These people have an inbred hatred for one another and it will continue until the current generation dies out. The hatred is passed down from one generation to the next.

[gotribe]

Ridiculous. No one - not even the most devoted Bushbot - thought Iraq would look like the U.S. politically. They'll come together when the threat of dying becomes great enough for no one to ignore.

[Right Wing Assault]

The US was supposed to become like Iraq? Wow, I didn't realize that was one of our goals.

[theothercheek]

No, it was not one of our goals - it was one of the goals of the radical left, the MSM and folks like Cindy Sheehan. If you can polarize the people enough, then fringe candidates on the left have more of a chance to win than they otherwise would. The point of this post was that Americans are becoming so politically polarized over single issues like abortion or the WOT that they are forming themselves into the equivalent of the tribes/clans in Iraq.

[kingu]

An interesting viewpoint. Mine is that an issue has to be devolved into a three second segway into a story about a kitten trapped in a wall.

School vouchers? Can't talk about that - first of all, the teacher's union is paying too much money to politicians to risk their jobs on any experiments, and beyond, it's a complicated issue with many possible solutions..

A teacher (private school) once explained to me the best way to tell if you have a good principal. Go to their office, and look at the wall. Count the number of diplomas or other signs of academia. Start with the number five, and take away one for every display. If you're at zero or less, you've graded the principal properly - they're less than useless.

So it's less than tribalism - more of a lack of communication. And the same problem exists in Iraq. You have news so absolutely biased as to be just like your average principal - less than useless. You're not permitted to think in shades of gray - it is black and white on every issue.

Alas, this is yet another commentary putting forth the same fraud on the people - seeking the three second answer. We're tribal! That's the problem. No - the problem is seeking the three second answer.

[olezip]

It does seem that Americans are pitted one against the other. But that behavior is the result of years and years of indoctrination of the children of this country by the leftist, socialist revolutionaries in our schools, in our courts, in our newspapers, television news (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN). We have a lost generation of people who do not understand basic economics but do know how to put a condom on a banana. We have a generation of people who believe in redistribution of wealth because they have been taught that the deck is stacked against them (and only the Democrats care). As this country continues down the slippery slope of socialism, we will all be bankrupt.

[EQAndyBuzz]

That whole area needs a realignment. That has always been the problem in the middle east. There are too many artifically created borders that placed people where they truly didn't belong.

In all fairness to the people of that region, the best thing that could happen is that there is a major fustercluck and Iraq is broken down into three countries.

Of course the problem then becomes Iran invading the south, Syria coming into Central Iraq and Turkey invading the north.

[Pietro]

"They'll come together when the threat of dying becomes great enough for no one to ignore."

I agree w/ that. Just as in the former Yugoslavia where they finally tired of killing each other. Whether or not that requires three separate nations of a federalist construct will have to be worked out.

Either way I believe that this transformation cannot occur w/o US assistance.

[LibLieSlayer]

President Bush has always stated that it was NEVER going to look like America, but would take the form that Iraqis wanted it to have. This was discussed for months during the writing of the Constitution. dims lie, are so dumb they forget... or both!

LLS

[CrazyIvan]

Well, it's not exactly like the U.S. For instance the chance of getting shot is lower than in D.C.

[Just_an_average_Joe]

"When the U.S. invaded Iraq, American optimists invoked Germany and Japan as models for their democratization project, but Iraq didn’t have the cultural cohesion or national identity of those countries. …"

I just happen to be in Germany this week, and was fortunate to have a guided tour of Nuremberg. During this tour, a German historian pointed out to me that Germany had a significant ethnogenisys of Germanic tribes during the pre-Roman age. My guide informed me that, through the medieval empire until the fall of Napoleon, Germany continued to have a tribal populace. In fact, additional western German tribes arose during the third century. In 1817, around 30K people from all social classes and regions demonstrated AGAINST any type of Germany reunification. It really wasn't until the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) that Germany was unified in any meaningful manner. By the beginning of the 1930's, Germany was on the verge of civil war - primarily due to the hardships as a result of the treaty of Versailles - and increasing lacked identification with any political party or country. It was really only a series of deft political moves, particularly effective propaganda, a charismatic leader, and a scapegoat that provided the context of Natzi unification of Germany. So, from 1933-1945, there was a powerful national unification in Germany. After the war, I'm told that Germany was ashamed of the identity they formed 12 years prior. In fact, my guide told me that German's didn't even wave flags at football events until this past year - because of this national shame. In short, the argument that Iraq can't be a successful democracy, due to a "missing ingredient" (cultural cohesion or national identity) that was in place in Germany following WW2, just doesn't carry any water for me.

[Renegade]

All that is missing in Philadelphia is IED's . The body count keeps climbing in the " City of Brotherly Love !"

[jerod]

It was supposed to become like the USA, but instead it became more like Detroit.

The only difference... More American's have been murdered in Detroit over that last 3+ years, than have died in Iraq fighting for a good cause. Other than that, they're pretty much the same, and Detroit is in the USA. So maybe they have become like the USA in a sense.

[Smartaleck]

Somebody hasn't looked at the murder rates and riots in the US?

[theothercheek]

Violent crime, whether in Philly, Detroit or DC is a whole 'nother thing. The point is, if the body politic fractionalizes over single issues like abortion or Iraq it's like dividing up into tribes. If each tribe votes for a particular candidate who is also of that tribe, then a Ned Lamont becomes possible. Luckily, in the case of CT the voters are transcending tribalism and coming together for the good of society as a whole, which is why Lieberman will win and Lamont will lose.