Recently, WMSV aired a series of interviews with veterans of the war in Iraq. One veteran, Elizabeth Vazquez, voiced her respect for the Iraqi insurgents: “… they are defending their rights, their beliefs, their country …”
Vazquez’s statements illustrate the difficult situation the United States faces in Iraq. Clearly, America is split over the war. Anti-war rallies occur daily while practically every car on the road has a “Support our Troops” ribbon attached.
After fighting a war for dubious reasons-the empty-handed search for weapons of mass destruction is all but over-America did oust a vicious tyrant.
To do so, however, much of Iraq’s governmental and physical infrastructure was destroyed. Thus, claiming “We have made the world safe from Saddam!” and going home is not an option. America must now help rebuild Iraq into a nation that can stand on its own.
Unfortunately, not everybody wants American help. Anti-American insurgency has, not surprisingly, become a major problem in Iraq. It is understandable that many Iraqis would view the American troops as an occupying force.
However, the insurgents in Iraq are far from freedom fighters. Vazquez speaks more accurately than she realizes. The insurgents in Iraq fight for their right to kill those who disagree with them, they fight for the belief that doing so is Allah’s will and they fight for the old Iraq, the country that conquered Kuwait and murdered the Kurds by the hundred thousand.
The insurgents in Iraq are not revolutionaries, they are terrorists, as Vazquez continues, “… they blow up a lot of their own people.”
Without American intervention, these terrorists will likely overwhelm Iraq’s fledging democracy. During the nation’s first election, they shut down polls and disenfranchised tens of thousands of Iraqis. One Iraqi official, quoted in Wired.com, said that without American aid, Iraq would erupt into violence.
While the case for continued American presence in Iraq is strong, it remains hard for our soldiers. Over a thousand have been killed in Iraq since 2003. It is difficult to see how rebuilding Iraq falls within their duty to defend the United States.
Despite the embarrassing injustice of the Abu Grahaib scandal, U.S. troops in Iraq are risking their lives for the protection of Iraqis. They are serving beyond what our nation can reasonably ask of them. They are supposed to defend the United States from threats, not suppress a rebellion six thousand miles away. Not surprisingly, troop morale has suffered.
It is this issue that should concern Americans most about Iraq. How do we meet our obligation of rebuilding Iraq into a functioning, democratic, free nation while at the same time not asking too much of our troops? This is the question we face.
Iraq needs American help to prevent a return to tyranny, and America has obliged itself to help because our 2003 invasion, while ousting Saddam Hussein, put the lives of millions of Iraqis at risk. At the same time, our military is made up of men and women who signed up to defend their country, not someone else’s.
The question is not an easy one, though there are several possible solutions. One would be to push for greater international support in rebuilding Iraq. Thus, some of the burden could be taken off American troops.
Also, the military could ask for volunteers to serve in Iraq and reward them with pay bonuses and other incentives. Of course, this system may not provide enough troops to effectively police Iraq, so a compromise between increasing multinational participation and a volunteer and award system seems to be the best way to keep Iraq on the path to democracy while not forcing our troops to risk their lives outside the defense of our nation.
The Iraq situation is a complicated one. While our troops should not be made to risk their lives fighting the Iraqi rebels, our nation is obligated to help the Iraqi people rebuild their country.
Anti-war protests are a waste of time. Our primary focus must be on how to best create a stable, free Iraq while putting our troops in harm’s way as little as possible.
Nathan Alday is a graduate student in aerospace engineering. He can be reached at [email protected].