I usually do not write about the war in Iraq. In fact, I have never written about the war in Iraq, because if scholars more intelligent than I am don’t know what’s happening, there’s no reason for me to think I can know. However, I do feel a generally negative vibe from the war since, frankly, we haven’t won yet, whatever winning means at this point.
A recent problem that adds to my negative feeling of the war is a 12-foot-high, 3-mile-long wall that the U.S. military began to construct last week in Baghdad to divide a Sunni neighborhood called Adhamiyah from Shiite areas.
Fortunately, the Baghdad wall (sound familiar?) did not successfully gain Sunni and Shiite residents’ approval, as The New York Times reported.
The wall would have been very counterproductive.
At a time when we are trying to end sectarian violence in the city, we want to build a wall to continue to divide the people.
The Adhamiyah city council never signed an agreement to build the wall, fearing that it would alienate the neighborhood from the Shiite-majority area and cause added tensions, especially in the long run.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said, “I oppose the building of the wall and its construction will stop,” according to The New York Times.
Yesterday, the U.S. finally pledged to stop construction.
U.S. military officials had planned for the wall to be “one of the centerpieces of a new strategy,” as reported by The New York Times.
Perhaps this was simply part of a strategy the Bush administration has employed from the beginning – force will fix the world’s problems.
Even if occupying Iraq should not be considered force, building a wall certainly is.
We have already toppled the brutal leader of Iraq. We have already occupied Baghdad. Now we must turn to less severe means, diplomacy, to achieve social peace, which can’t be achieved by the work of hands, by throwing a wall together when people don’t like each other.
Peace, here, means unification. A wall blocks not only terrorism but also peaceful communication.
It’s good that the Iraqis understand that, despite their differences, it is important for them to coexist.
A wall sets people apart, forces them to view each other differently and provides a tangible source for more conflict. It may seem to work initially, but a constant reminder of hostility and disunity in the middle of the city will not help.
A city divided cannot stand.