War in Iraq, Second Thoughts
I am starting to have second thoughts about the war in Iraq. Before the war started, I was a big proponent of it. In fact, I wrote numerous times, here and elsewhere, that the war would further the cause of freedom and [edit] deal a hard blow to Islamic terrorism.
I am starting to have second thoughts.
I say this not because of the WMD situation and not because my first principles have changed. I still think that free Iraq, Iran, Syria, etc, is a great step in fighting terrorism. My problem is that I assumed the American, and British, forces would be good enough to have finished with Iraq by now.
As it has been pointed out by John Derbyshire, the US war against the Empire of Japan, also known as World War II, lasted 1,347 days. "The current war in Iraq, against a rabble of Arab hooligans, has lasted 861 days. If it lasts as long as WW2, it will end on November 25 next year."
Why is it that the allies were able to defeat Nazism, Fascism, and Japanese Imperialism all in a matter of half dozen years, yet they can't beat a bunch of people who live out of caves in that time? The Japanese had planes, they had ships, they had lots and lots of guns. (And just like today's terrorists, they were willing to die for the cause - although the Japanese had a lot more honour.) The Germans were the best fighting army in the world, Al Zarqawi and his band of buffoons are at best a second tier gang that wouldn’t survive Harlem.
What the hell is happening?
We were supposed to be done with freeing Iraq and well into freeing either Syria or Iran by now! Instead, we have allowed an even bigger fundamentalist to take over in Iran. While the US is spending all its time fixing Iraq, the rest of the region is becoming more and more fertile for terrorism.
The United States needs to finish with Iraq already so it can start scaring the hell of Iraq’s neighbours.
posted by Watch at 10:55 AM
4 Comments:
If we were to judge by World War II standards, the war on Iraq ended when Saddam Hussein's government collapsed. What's happening now is "Reconstruction" -- establishing a new government and political system.
Americans will tell you that Reconstruction is always going to be painful. Their own "reconstruction" -- after the five-year Civil War -- took nearly 30 years, and its repercussions lasted well into the 20th century.
Remember that Nazi Germany, for all its atrocities, was a reasonably united and stable nation. Iraq was a factionalized mess held together by a brutal dictator. In order for Iraq to function as a proper democracy, all its people have to unlearn the lessons taught to them in the past 30 years. Not an easy thing.
11:47 AM
The Allies also had their share of terrorists after the fact in WWII. Google the wulfpack - or at least I think that's what they called themselves.
12:07 PM
The war in Iraq IS part of WW2 reconstruction...
12:23 PM
A very interesting post, and interesting points raised in the comments. I just want to say that this has been a good read overall, and I say kudos to you.
As for my own two cents: don't forget that World War II was total war. Just about everybody was mobilized towards the war effort. There were millions of soldiers, and vast portions of the economy was given over towards the war effort. There was rationing.
An argument can be made that the Bush Administration did not commit as much as they should have to the Iraqi invasion and the aftermath that followed -- hampered perhaps by the tax cuts the administration applied soon after their election. After 9/11, the American people were willing to make significant sacrifices to fight the War on Terror, but the Bush Administration kept the tax cuts in place. It can be argued that fewer soldiers were sent to Iraq than were needed to keep the peace afterward, and it can be argued that not enough was done to reduce North American dependence on Mid East oil; one of those undercurrents that is keeping the War on Terror fueled.
But VW makes a strong point: the military advance against Saddam was one of the fastest and longest on record. The actual shooting war in Iraq was easy compared to the shooting war of WWII and we're in the reconstruction period now.
Comparing the two, one question I have to ask is: where is the Marshall Plan for the Middle East? That was a key element which helped hasten reconstruction in Western Europe and save those countries from slipping into communism.
2:06 AM
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