Saddam Hussein’s ouster as Iraqi’s President left an enormous power void. The rush to fill the vacuum caught American war-planners by surprise as multiplied thousands of domestic insurgents, foreign terrorists, and opportunists of all sorts saw a golden opportunity to control Iraq’s oil and the power it generates, while handing America a humiliating defeat in the bargain. The five-plus years of fighting killed thousands of coalition troops and God-only-knows how many thousands of Iraqis. Yet, the light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter.
Iraqi forces are finally taking charge in most regions, and in a few years Iraq may be entirely free of foreign troops. With the exception of an occasional bombing, Iraq is fast becoming a safe place to live. A democratic government is in place and President-elect Obama, who will take office in less than a month, has pledged to remove our troops ASAP. A self-governing and secure Iraq seems just around the corner. America’s muddled pre-emptive war may finally be reaching a conclusion.
President Bush’s dream of planting a friendly democracy smack dab in the middle of nations hostile to the United States may become a reality. On the other hand, once Iraq is on its own the fragile peace now in place may disintegrate as ancient rivalries reassert themselves along with the tradition of using force to settle political questions.
Whether we like it or not, America has been in the nation-building business in Iraq since the day President Bush declared “Mission Accomplished.” The Iraqi military had melted to obscurity, Saddam was in hiding, the Baath Party deposed, and chaos reigned. Iraq was a wreck and America was responsible for the fix. Virtually every action since then, military and political, had as its goal the creation of a self-securing, democratic Iraq. The security part would happen sooner or later in any case. Another dictator or a strong democracy could provide reasonable internal safety and national defense. It’s that democracy thing that will prove much tougher to maintain.
Democracy’s success in America is due to a commitment to a set of values in short supply in the Middle East. The rights enumerated by the First Amendment — freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly, and redress of grievances — have never existed in Iraq or most other middle eastern nations. Whether these and other prerequisites to democratic longevity will take root in Iraq, replacing long-held traditions of rule by strongman, is anybody’s guess. Democracy, with its inherent give and take, deal-making and the like, can be extremely frustrating. Iraqis at some future may date decide to revert back to more familiar types of administration. If so, America’s nation-building exercise and the entire war effort will have been in vain, a gargantuan waste of life and resources.
The coming years will reveal the genuineness of Iraq’s commitment to democracy. America’s Founding Fathers were among the wealthiest and most influential men in the colonies, yet without exception they allowed their political fate to be determined at the ballot box. Will the same happen in Iraq? On January 20, 2009 Americans will witness another transfer of political power, not only without a shot being fired but amid friendliness and cooperation on all sides, and this after a bruising, some would say vicious, campaign. Will vanquished Iraqi political parties be as gracious in defeat? Will centuries of tribal conflict and religious rivalry give way to the rule of law and equal rights regardless of race, color, gender, religion, or national origin? Let’s hope so.
One thing is certain. When the last coalition forces leave Iraq, that nation’s future will once again be out of our control. Iraqis will determine their destiny, a situation exactly as it should be. But, considering the sacrifices made in the name of democracy by the brave men and women of many nations including Iraq, settling for the possibility that all our effort and sacrifice and expense many go up in smoke is more than a little scary and calls into question the decision to open this can of worms in the first place. It seems, therefore, that one crucial lesson to be learned from our Iraq War experience is this: if we can’t guarantee the preservation of hard-won accomplishments, perhaps we shouldn’t make the investments required for victory to begin with. It’s a lesson we should apply to Afghanistan right now. And Iran.
Posted by Jerry Pomeroy in Politics, War in Iraq