a military peace?

"It seems very unlikely that history will judge either the intervention itself or the ideas animating it kindly. . .The United States still has a chance of creating a Shiite-dominated democratic Iraq, but the new government will be very weak for years to come; the resulting power vacuum will invite outside influence from all of Iraq's neighbors, including Iran. There are clear benefits to the Iraqi people from the removal of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, and perhaps some positive spillover effects in Lebanon and Syria. But it is very hard to see how these developments in themselves justify the blood and treasure that the United States has spent on the project."
francis fukuyama
the new york times magazine
februrary 19, 2006


during early 2003, i could not commit to support or protest the war in iraq. i was a student at the school of social work at the university of michigan. students were strongly opposed to any military intervention. i am personally non-violent; however, history teaches us that some military conflicts are inevitable and essential.

i believed that certain american military success would uproot a hateful, violent tyranny. i further believed that a new democratic society would prioritize equality and education. as a social worker, i could not argue against increased opportunity for oppressed women, isolated kurds, and disadvantaged shi'a.

yet, i also believed that president bush rushed to war. i did not believe that iraq threatened our immediate security, and i believed that tough diplomacy had strangled and isolated saddam's ambition and terror. international inspectors had made significant headway towards weakening and deactivating a formerly robust biological weapons program. i also deeply questioned any preemptive war: is it possible to guess crimes and criminals?

i did not feel indecisive. . . i felt neutral. i could not actively oppose or support the war. however, it was very interesting to see the protest movement's clear support for american troops. protestors learned that political protests against the war in vietnam had overreached. radical protests increasingly rejected american soldiers in vietnam and returning vietnam veterans.

in that spirit, i support the continued effort of our brave troops. however, recent reports demonstrate that our civilian leadership did not learn from our tragic mistakes in vietnam. i believe that our war effort demonstrates our president's stubborn arrogance and consistent imcompetence. recently, 7 high ranking generals and military strategiests called for the resignation of defense secretary donald rumsfeld.

first white house rebuttals note that hundreds of officers and generals have served sec. rumsfeld without public rancor. however, it is unprecendented for any military leaders to so adamantly and so publicly disagree with an active military effort. perhaps even more significantly, an open call for military leadership to support rumsfeld has only led to 3 public statements - one from his immediate subordinate.

it is not clear that we have helped establish an open, democratic society in iraq. the iraqi constitution mandates that one quarter of asembly representatives be women. it further establishes democratic elections and proposes a federalist balance between sunni, shi'a, and kurdish states. however, the political process has only activated regional and ethnic conflict. the current assembly is corrupt and undisciplined. while many women now attend school and university, some women are also increasingly forced to follow fundamentalist sharia law.

today, we know that the powell doctrine of overwhelming force was ignored. we know that the bush doctrine for preemptive war overreached, and the rumsfeld doctrine for lean military strikes failed to maintain any initial success. we know that the evidence for war was cooked, that planning for occupation was avoided, and that our large scale military effort in iraq has failed to achieve its primary objectives. we know that the war in iraq drew necessary soldiers away from afghanistan, and limits further american influence on iran, syria, and north korea. most importantly, the war has needlessly sacrificed the courage and bravery of american, british, and iraqi civilians and soldiers.

i cannot be sure that i was completely wrong in 2003. i would like to believe that an egalitarian, democratic society was possible. (and, it still may be.) however, i am now completely sure that the comprehensive war effort in iraq has failed. if iraq now blossoms, it will be in spite of our misguided plans.