Lessons Yet Learned
Iraq's history, both as a nation and before, is replete with lessons for the U.S. to learn. It is apparent that we have learned from some of them, while unfortunately, it is also clear that neither Iyad Allawi, Interim Prime Minister of Iraq, nor we have learned from others. We also find that not all of the lessons of Iraq's past are encouraging for the U.S. and Free Iraq. In fact, it may be that the U.S. led removal of Saddam Hussein is good for the Iraqi people, and great for Iran and the Shi'a leaders of Iraq, whether nationalist or not.
Lesson 1. The Gift of Freedom is not always well received.
As recently as the founding of an independent Iraq, in 1932, we see that the gift of freedom, or independence is not always well received. Almost immediately, without the support of the systems of maintaining law and order and for making political change, the Iraqi people found themselves violently seeking to change their system of governance. No political parties existed and the ruling family, chosen through a vote of the people, found themselves unable to control the non-constitutional methods of opposition movements. Additionally, those who opposed a sitting government would turn to tribal leaders and the military to affect their dissent. This led to many swift changes in authority and to brutal means of control. The people of Iraq have been trained to respond to force, not to express their individuality or to seek individual Freedoms.
Lesson 2. Independence, not Blood or Faith, must lead the way.
The Iraqi citizens predominately define themselves first by their faith or their tribal lineage. Bloodlines are significantly more important to them than being Iraqi, and while this will change with time and successes, it is not likely to quickly dissolve. The Kurds prefer Kurds and the Arabs prefer Arabs. One of the Ba’ath party’s accomplishments, or errors, depending on the perspective, was the weakening of the use of tribal names in Iraq. This enabled more to see themselves as Iraqi, but unfortunately, the mosque continues to offer both tribal and religious separation, as Imams do not limit their Khutbah, or sermons, to personal actions and embodiment of faith. The faith of the man becomes a stronger tie than his nation, which seems to be an obvious choice when living with Saddam Hussein as the icon of your nation. Now this too must end. The movement for a Free Iraq must communicate to the Iraqi, with the blessing of his Imam and/or Mullah, that Liberty is a virtue, and while some will obviously use that personal liberty as license to violate the laws of their faith, others will see it as a greater sign of their faith.
Lesson 3. Appeasement does not result in peace.
Through appeasement, the government only defers the battle it will face for a free Iraq. As King Ghazi found after permitting and approving of the removal of the government in 1936, the result is not peace. Then as is possible now, the military, those who possess force and most importantly, are willing to use it, become the only power within the nation.
The examples go on and on. If Prime Minister Allawi permits Muqtada al-Sadr to live freely after his armed conflict with the Iraqi and U.S. forces in Najaf, he can surely count on facing those forces again. Unfortunately, this means that Iraqi citizens, who are ready for freedom, may fall victim to it, just as the U.S. military forces may also face that danger again. The next time we face a force in direct conflict, we would be better served to remove them. Whether it is by death or by imprisonment, those who attack the fledgling nation of Iraq must be defeated.
