What Did We Learn from Iraq?

As bombs blast away at random targets, mostly in Baghdad, as the Shiite Iraqi government we installed and Iran grow even closer together, exactly what did we learn about attacking this purported resting place of so many “weapons of mass destruction”… which were never found? As majority Shiites push and shove their way against the once ruling Sunni minority, who literally blast back. 4,500 American deaths and well over a trillion dollars later. I submit… NOTHING. Even as we are gone, the government is beginning to unravel: “One of the largest and most powerful political groups in Iraq began a boycott of Parliament on [December 17^th], signaling fresh waves of political dysfunction that threaten to unravel Iraq’s year-old governing coalition just days after the formal end to the American military mission here.

“The standoff pits Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a Shiite, against one of his most nettlesome partners in Iraq’s government, the Iraqiya coalition, a multisectarian group with wide support among secular Iraqis and Sunni Muslims… In announcing its boycott, Iraqiya accused Mr. Maliki’s government of arbitrarily arresting aides and security guards who work for Iraqiya leaders, and blamed him for failing to stem a recent welter of unrest in the largely Sunni province of Diyala. Local leaders in Diyala recently voted to seek more autonomy from the Shiite-led government in Baghdad, a move that provoked unruly demonstrations, mostly by Shiites.” New York Times, December 18^th.

We learned nothing from Vietnam, and nothing from Iraq. Yet we are still in Afghanistan. Consider what we are fighting for in the latter theater of war:

1. This is the legal system we support: “An Afghan woman who was jailed on charges of ‘forced adultery’ after being raped, then pardoned following an international outcry, has been released nearly two weeks after a judicial panel said she could go free, her lawyer said Wednesday. But the future of the Afghan woman, Gulnaz, remains unclear. Gulnaz, who uses one name and is now 21, was attacked by her cousin’s husband in 2009 and gave birth to a daughter behind bars. The government announcement of the pardon made it clear that there was an expectation that she would agree to marry her rapist, a way of ensuring the child was not treated as illegitimate. But her lawyer said that since Gulnaz’s attacker was still in jail, the question of whether she would marry him was off the table for the moment.” New York Times, December 14^th. [Emphasis added]

2. This is the government we support: “Corruption is a corrosive that destroys the legitimacy and viability of the government…That is why the failure of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to crack down on corruption in his administration and among his political allies is so dangerous. Instead of cleaning up government, Mr. Karzai has been blocking efforts to clean out corrupt politicians. The result is not only eroding support for his government among Afghans, but deepening divisions among allied countries trying to stabilize Afghanistan… The scale of the problem is staggering. Not only is there theft — it is reckoned that $1 billion intended to rebuild Afghanistan is illegally taken out of the country through Kabul airport — but the readiness of government officials to look the other way has led to an explosion in opium production, and a virtual flood of heroin around the world. The diversion and misuse of billions of dollars of reconstruction funds contributes to the strengthening of local warlords, a commensurate weakening of the power of the central government, and the alienation of growing numbers of Afghans. The Taliban may be harsh, but they are generally perceived as honest. (And sometimes corruption results in the diversion of money, weapons and information directly into the hands of the Taliban.)” Japan Time, September 8, 2010. Most major periodicals have reported on this massive corruption.

3. This is the area of Afghanistan where the Karzai government has control after more than a decade of US military intervention: Kabul and its environs… only. Between local warlords and the Taliban – the latter being the supporters of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and the Twin Towers – the rest of the nation is not under governmental control. For that segment of the population that is Pashtu, that same Taliban has disproportionate control: “The country, the Pashtuns are about half the population of the country. This is where the Taliban has almost all of its support. It has no support among the well armed, well organised other groups in the country - the Tajiks, the Hazaras, the Uzbeks - and so in the Pashtun areas today the Taliban control the countryside, they control much of Kandahar city, Afghanistan's second city, and if the NATO forces withdraw I think the situation would continue to be approximately that.” Round table discussion of regional experts televised on Australia’s ABC network November 5, 2011.

You don’t “win” civil wars as an outsider. You don’t change tribal and religious animosities that have soured over many generations (centuries even) in a couple of years. You don’t have Western Judeo-Christian nations invade Muslim nations to impose a new system of government based on their models and expect warm acceptance. We are actually in direct talks with the Taliban, hoping we can work it all out with them, and that they will honor their commitments when we leave: “After 10 months of secret dialogue with Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents, senior U.S. officials say the talks have reached a critical juncture and they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end the Afghan war.” Huffington Post, December 18^th. Yeah, right? Who’s smoking the local produce now? Whether we leave Afghanistan today or in ten years, the aftermath of chaotic tribalism and civil war will simply resume. How many billions of additional dollars will we spend? How many additional civilian casualties will we inflict? How many American lives will be lost or ruined in the remaining time? Leave now!

I’m Peter Dekom, and while we must retaliate against nations that attack us with a clear show of force, this does not mean we have to invade the country and impose our view of a “proper” government.