America's 'gift' to Iraq

I believe in the Iraqi project. Ryan Crocker, U. S. ambassador in Baghdad, who knows the ways of the region, said something that I truly believe in. He said, "In the end, how we leave and what we leave behind will be much more important than how we came." The debate thus far has been about how we came. Bush lied, people died, there were no weapons of mass destruction. There's no connection between al-Qaeda, which is religious, and the regime of Saddam Hussein, which is secular. We spent five years and we are now in year six of this debate about the origins of the war and the rationale of the war. We are done with this. We are in Iraq.

The U.S. smashed the Sunni-Tikriti hegemony and we created the Shia-led government. We hadn't really intended to create the Shia led government. The war wasn't about this. But once you destroy the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, then of course the Shia and the Kurds were bound to come into power, because in the end, this was a Shia country in terms of numbers, with a vast Kurdish minority in the north. So the U. S. has already midwifed, if you will, this country. And here, in the middle of this unbelievably difficult landscape of the Arab world, we've installed a binational government in many ways.

Here were the Kurds -- they absolutely were the most betrayed of people. All the nations of the region, all the great powers had betrayed the Kurds. And yet there is now a decent order in Kurdistan.

For the Sunnis, Americans came and stole their country. They believed Iraq was going to be theirs forever. Whenever I'm there I remind the Iraqis that there was no way this tyranny in Iraq could be overthrown internally. Saddam's regime was a reich of a thousand years. It was decapitated in 2003, and we've been watching the pain of Iraq, the disappointments of Iraq.

I look at Iraq and ask myself, does any man own Iraq? When I go to Egypt I know I am in Hosni Mubarak's country. When I am in Jordan I know I am traveling to King Abdullah's country. Who owns Iraq? Is it Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish president? Not particularly. Is it Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a son of the Shia middle class from the middle Euphrates? Not particularly. Is it his deputy, the Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister, Barham Sadr? Not exactly. Is it the Shia vice-president, the Sunni vice-president? So we have created this order in Iraq. And I think President Bush deserves immense credit for both launching this war with the approval of his country and the approval of the Congress, and then for doubling down and staying with this war in January, 2007, when the project was threatened.

Now the Shia, we always worry about the Shia. You know why we worry about them? Because we listen to the Sunnis too much. You have the King of Jordan saying, "There's a Shia crescent" -- stretched, he says, from Iran to Iraq to Syria and Lebanon. But there are no Shia in Syria. So the crescent breaks. But even after 9/11, and even after the attacks of al-Qaeda, which were Sunni attacks, from Sunni fundamentalists, we still believe -- we still believe, and we fear the Shia. We see them as kind of soulmates of the Iranian theocracy next door. When in truth, if you know Iraq and you know the traditions of Iraqi Shiasm, there's a big difference between Iranian Shiaism and Iraqi Shiaism. And the Arab-Persian divide is so deep and so integral to the way Iraqis think about Shiaism and about themselves.

The Kurds, for their part, that's an easier call. The Kurds love America, and are grateful for this war and are grateful for the liberty given them. They understand that there can be no Kurdish state, that America will not countenance a Kurdish state. But it will support Kurdish autonomy. So I think the Iraqi project is coming together reasonably well. And of course, Americans will vote on the Iraq war in November.

The American public will decide whether this Bush project of supporting liberty in the Islamic world is really worth it, or whether it's really kind of a fool's errand, to take liberty to strangers. Because, make no mistake about it, Bush has made this historic decision that the Arabs have the possibility of freedom in their DNA. And that's the message he has taken to them. And that's the message he has remained true to. And that's the message he will leave with on Jan. 20, 2009. This assertion that liberty can stick on Arab soil is a gift that Bush brought to the Arabs.

www.salonspeakers.com - Fouad Ajami spoke at last week's Teatro Salon Series in Calgary. The Teatro Series brings internationally acclaimed speakers to Calgary to talk about the pressing issues facing Canada and the world. The National Post is the series' media partner.

Ajami excellent as always. I recommend his recent book “The Foreigners Gift”.

BTW “Ajam” is the Arab insult for Persians...

“The American public will decide whether this Bush project of supporting liberty in the Islamic world is really worth it, or whether it's really kind of a fool's errand, to take liberty to strangers. Because, make no mistake about it, Bush has made this historic decision that the Arabs have the possibility of freedom in their DNA. And that's the message he has taken to them. And that's the message he has remained true to. And that's the message he will leave with on Jan. 20, 2009. This assertion that liberty can stick on Arab soil is a gift that Bush brought to the Arabs.”

BTTT ((((PING))))! Not only has our Military fought for our freedom, it has brought the gift of liberty to hundreds of millions of people, globally. We, the American public must never forget and gratefully remember the heroes of the past and those who walk among us today. I wish you all a thoughtful Memorial Day.

This assertion that liberty can stick on Arab soil is a gift that Bush brought to the Arabs.

It will take a while for this idea of freedom to take hold, because they've never really had it, and never saw it in action. It's a unique time in history, because they can now see how this idea of a Democracy or a Representative Republic works, because of the immediacy of the media.

All races and nations are equally capable of Liberty and Democracy. Without exception. The hurdle is Islam, especially in it’s political form. For the last half century, secularism in the Middle East was linked to military authoritarianism, which discredited it widely... giving strength to radical Islamism. Both are forms of violent tyranny. Both need to be abandoned by the people for the pursuit of Liberty. The Kurds in Iraq set the example. It is possible. Bush realized the importance this truth has for America and the world. But it takes time and effort. We assisted the Iraqi Kurds for almost two decades. They went a long way from the genocide and war they suffered from, through a civil war and political turmoil... but now they are the beacon of the Middle East.

The author does give credit to whom credit is due. And the argument is so valid. One only has to continue to remind themselves of the German/Italian/Japanese axis and see how their peoples live in freedom today. It can under the right set of conditions also be applied to the Muslim ruled countries of the world in due time. I expect this will come to past if one adheres to Biblical prophecy. The world will be at peace with itself and basically free trade shall globally shall be the norm.
Then HE will return. Meanwhile many of us hold dear all the sacrifices made by so many men and women that have given so much to keep this nation free and prosperous. They gave so much from the very beginnings of this Republic till this day.

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