The President’s recent announcement of a ‘New Way Forward in Iraq’ created the expected frenzy in the popular media to see who will be the first to declare the President’s plan null and our defeat in Iraq complete. These media pundits are the same ones that raved that the midterm Congressional elections were a clear indication that the American people want a different course in Iraq, a course presumed to include withdrawal and defeat, a contention that might not be too far off from the truth.
Of course, there are many significant problems with asserting that Americans gave a clear indication about anything in the 2006 election, not the least of which are whether Americans actually care about what happens in Iraq beyond getting it off of the nightly news and whether they are capable of being electorally clear about anything when they vote for the same political status quo every time. Nevertheless, the fact that they voted into power a Congressional majority that opposes a continued fight toward victory in Iraq is unquestionable
At the root of these problems is the fact that too many Americans have too short of an attention span and too little care to realize what the stakes were, are, and will be in Iraq. Such a realization is that the campaign in Iraq never was just about toppling Saddam Hussein or finding weapons of mass destruction, information the nightly news and the local fishwrap do not supply and that might take some effort to find.
What is worse is that Americans used to care enough to know. Even during Vietnam, Americans cared about what was happening- what the war was about and what the stakes were. Going back to the World War 2 generation, almost everyone seemed to get what was going on and placed their full effort into accomplishing that task. The conflict in Iraq, however, is in its fourth year, longer than most American TV series last, and modern Americans are getting bored with the fact that their military is fighting for freedom and against tyranny in another country to keep them safe.
What has happened to America people then? When did losing become an acceptable option? There is no doubt that the situation in Iraq is complex and difficult. There is no doubt that mistakes were made in the past four years that need to be corrected. There is no doubt that there are no easy or direct answers to what to do in Iraq. Yet, how is leaving- that is abandoning Iraq- an answer worth considering?
Unfortunately, the fact that Americans seem to be willing to discuss defeat as a viable solution in Iraq is an example of a wider malaise that has infected American society. This malaise demands an immediate, direct, and simple solution to complex, difficult, and ongoing problems. This malaise claims that problems that cannot be solved in the demanded way are then someone else’s problem. This malaise results in Americans being willing to consider defeat in Iraq without considering the dire and long-reaching consequences of such a defeat.
Of course, this discussion also reflects another aspect of the malaise that infects America: that Americans are unwilling to view the conflict in Iraq, its causes, and its consequences in the context of the actual situation in Iraq, the Near East, and the greater Muslim World. Because Americans do not consider this context- it is far too broad, complex, and difficult for such consideration- discussion of defeat is that much easier.
So, what caused this malaise? That question is broad and open for much speculation and debate. Whatever the cause, however, the result is clear: America could conceivably abandon Iraq because the situation there is too complex, difficult, and enduring for Americans to deal with. Yet, in making such a choice, Americans will accept an entire new set of consequences that are far greater, more complex, more difficult, and more enduring than even the current situation in Iraq.
Viewed in that light, the problem, then, is not whether we need a ‘New Way Forward in Iraq’- we certainly need that as well-, but how to effect a New Way Forward in America. What needs to happen is that responsible, aware Americans need to end their silence and take every opportunity to explain to the rest of their fellow citizens that the only acceptable outcome in Iraq is for us to succeed.
Further, the explanation needs to be made that the issue of Iraq extends beyond Iraq, that the problem includes eventually dealing directly with the problems of Iran, Syria, and even Saudi Arabia. Americans need to understand that the fight for Iraq is really a fight for the entire Muslim world. Where else is there such a confluence of Sunni and Shi’a Islam and the chance to win the hearts and minds of millions of the followers of both sects of that faith?
Ultimately, what needs to happen is that the great mass of Americans, that ever-present, burgeoning middleclass that dominates this great land, need to accept their role as the citizens of the most powerful nation on the planet, the world’s only superpower, and learn to exercise that responsibility with integrity and courage.
Before that can happen, however, that same middle class needs to be aware of what is at stake, and that goal is best achieved by service. As the number of Americans who have served- not just in the military, but in all aspects of public service- grows, the awareness of what America is all about will also grow.
Once that effect takes hold, then Americans will be able to grapple with the problems of our government, Iraq, and our place in the world intelligently and without the need for a pretty face reading a teleprompter to tell them what to think and to do. At that moment, America will have grown into its role as the world’s greatest nation, and the world will be better for it.
In the mean time, the small chorus of voices that are crying out against the storm must continue to do so louder and more vigorously than ever before. If America is to succeed in Iraq, it must succeed through victory. Any other action is defeat, however that defeat might be coated. If such a defeat is achieved, where will America stand then?
DLH
