The Uneasy War - Cathryn Crawford

washingtondispatch ^ | Jun 27, 2003 | Cathryn Crawford

[Straight Vermonter]

It amazes me that the chattering class has no grasp of history at all. There has never been a war in which the enemy stopped fighting when the war was lost. We had attacks against Allied troops in Germany and Japan after World War II. Why should we expect the situation in Iraq to be any different? Especially since in this case there are outside forces (Iran, al-Qaeda, etc) acting against us.

[eyespysomething]

The State Dept had their guy in at the beginning, and we'd tried to be nice. We should have put our foot down and declared martial law from the beginning. We didn't care what anyone thought about us going in, why after?

Now Bremer is in, and could probably be doing a good job, but we need to rotate the tired troops out and get fresh ones in there and make these people straighten up.

[Cicero]

And these idiots think that Christians are not realists!

The way I heard it, nothing in the affairs of men will ever be perfect until the Day of Judgment.

If you expect perfection, you'd might as well just stop right there, because it ain't gonna happen.

[fporretto]

Although she may have overstated a couple of items, Cathryn has some very good points here.

As Helmut Schoeck wrote in his landmark book Envy: A Theory Of Social Behaviour, ingratitude and resentment are the norm in response to benevolence. The window during which our forces in Iraq will be viewed favorably -- as the liberators they are -- might be closing. That the closure might be the work of Baathist survivors intent on expelling us by stealthy means is ultimately irrelevant to the effectiveness of their tactics.

What ought to be done about it? Good question. I hope someone has some ideas.

Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit The Palace Of Reason:
http://palaceofreason.com

[BOBTHENAILER]

Liberation will not be achieved - the war will not be over - until all the opposition is rooted out and the acts of violence and vandalism against both civilians and troops is stopped.

A difficult task indeed. But IMHO it WILL get done.

[cibco]

"Why should we expect the situation in Iraq to be any different? Especially since in this case there are outside forces (Iran, al-Qaeda, etc) acting against us."

Yep! Most people just don't get it. Our society of instant gratification has no comprehension of what is going on. March 19th we were poised for a war. It has been a whole three months and Iraq still isn't operating like a well oiled democratic machine.

Three months and we are having problems? Give me a break...

[MJY1288]

"Citizens of Iraq aren’t seeing them as liberators anymore"

I seriously doubt the author of this article has been to Iraq, considering she is a FReeper and posting here daily. My brother just got back from Iraq and tells a whole different story then this desktop commando Cathryn Crawford.

[TLBSHOW]

Ping

[LS]

". . . 25 attacks are carried out against peacekeepers during every 24 hour period. Even considering the size of Iraq, that is still a huge number."

Is it? Iraq is the size of California. Do you think there are 25 violent acts per day in CA? Now, you might say, "Well, not attacks against the police." OK. But California does not have a recently defeated enemy army that has gone to the bushes. I don't think this is unusual at all. Britain fought a TEN YEAR anti-guerrilla war in Malaya---and won. When you are dealing with a situation where you do not want to wipe out the entire population (i.e., Germany or Japan), but only the "bad guys," it does take time and isn't easy. But necessary.

[LS]

I agree, and, equally important, as Maj. Bob Bevalaqua said on Fox the other day, we need to get the Iraqi army in uniform, on the streets, and back in business.

[LS]

Good point. Germany after WW II? Six years. Ditto Japan. Hell, Union troops were in the South for TWELVE years after the Civil War. Pacification takes time. But I think soon the Iraqi army, after it has been vetted, will be back in uniform and on duty. That will help a lot. They won't take kindly to people shooting their own.

[OREALLY]

Many thought the major combat would last more than three months...I wish we could send all the blabbering critics to Iraq so they could show our brave troops how to do things right...Let them dodge bullets and eat their stupid words, instead of hiding behind their desks thinking of ways to demoralize our troops and our country !

[Redleg Duke]

"Liberation will not be achieved - the war will not be over - until all the opposition is rooted out and the acts of violence and vandalism against both civilians and troops is stopped."

Yeah! Look how much trouble we are having getting rid of the liberals and libertarians here in the USA...and don't even get me started on the brigadeers!

[Pan_Yans Wife]

It is the soldier's story, on the streets, meeting the people, offering assistance, etc. that needs to be emphasized on a steady basis. The eyes and ears of America are there, absorbing all of it. And the media only points out the negativity, not knowing that a heart or mind may have been won by a small act of kindness from a soldier. To expect the Iraqi citizens to be trusting so quickly after so many years of oppression, is unrealistic. It takes time to teach others that liberty takes responsibility and maintenance.

[MJY1288]

Yes, It's the desktop commando's who will step right over a story about the many acts of appreciation shown by the regular Iraqi people in order to interview a member of the Fedayeen Saddam about how he doesn't feel liberated. It makes me sick

[TLBSHOW]

Please thank your brother for me for his service to this Country.

[MJY1288]

I will, Thanks

[Sir Gawain]

Yeah, it appears we didn't learn our lesson in Afghanistan. Kick butt, install locals to give the appearance that we are not running things, and stay as much out of sight as possible while still wiping up the mess that's left.

[Past Democrat]

No More To Say!