Bring 'Em On – Home, That Is
by Douglas Herman
October 7, 2003

"How much longer are valuable lives to be sacrificed in the vain endeavour to impose upon the Arab population an elaborate and expensive administration which they never asked for and do not want?"

The Times, London 1920

Now that Iraq has become the Gaza Strip supersized, with American troops being killed or wounded by car bombs and grenades on a daily basis, perhaps we should consider bringing our boys home. After all, the stated purpose of the war in Iraq was to uncover weapons of mass destruction. None have been found. Then the purpose was to "liberate" Iraqis from Saddam's rule. Done and done well, with the toppling of his statues and destruction of Saddam's armies and palaces. Now if, instead, we intend to occupy this hostile and well-armed territory, a territory we do not own, much as the Israelis struggle to occupy the West Bank, we better get used to escalating guerilla attacks by people who have more claim to the land then we do. Putting American kids in harm's way does not lessen the likelihood of "terror" but increases the possibility of terrible deeds done to our troops, our national honor and our economy.

In a country absolutely bristling with leftover weapons, where a hand grenade sells for $1.50, how do we avoid transforming the individual gunslinger with a grudge, who may have lost a family member, into a unified guerilla army of resistance? What happens when the populace suffers one massacre too many, akin to our own Boston Massacre, and it becomes a fatal catalyst for violent action? How ironic if instead of "freeing" the Iraqis we momentarily unify all the factions, an upheaval mistaken for jihad, erroneously labeled terrorism by Pentagon spokesmen and political pundits, but simply a nationalistic, guerilla war to free Iraq from American military occupation.

"Because of a massively flawed policy, a proven miscalculation for which Congress should demand accountability, America is in big trouble in Iraq. Heads should roll – and the necks of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Meyers and Pace should be first on the chopping block," wrote decorated American soldier David Hackworth,

How long before hearts and minds pacification becomes another brutal, Vietnam-style "Operation Phoenix", and entire Iraqi villages are eradicated? How long before we hear the quote, "We had to destroy the village to save it"? Or worse yet, how long before we see Lebanon-style barracks explosions killing American troops?

But if we leave now, what have we accomplished, you rightly ask? If we leave now we accomplish a lesser mess than we shall otherwise make, a lesser number of American deaths, less Iraqis "accidentally" killed, less money spent, a lesser morass from which to extricate ourselves in the future. The greater good is to do the greater good, not to do that which is profitable for the lesser few, by enriching a select few corporations.

If in fact we really intended to rebuild Iraq, why haven't we seen any heartwarming stories from the mainstream press – which generally supported this Iraq war – about rebuilding efforts by the Army Corp of Engineers? Indeed, how many engineers and technicians are working in Iraq and what have they accomplished? Why hasn't Fox News devoted a few hours to programs about verifiable rebuilding projects, rather than propagandizing for the continual occupation?

According to a New York Times poll, a majority of Americans favor sticking around to finish the job of rebuilding Iraq. Noble sentiments. More instructive might be a poll of ordinary infantry soldiers, nobody above the rank of a sergeant (and absolutely uncensored by the Pentagon), asking them what they think of their task in Baghdad. These are the young men and women doing the heavy lifting and their opinions matter far more than the daily dross of Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. I would also prefer to read a poll of parents-of-a-soldier-in-Iraq. Alas, we shall probably never read either poll, for that would require both creative reporting and journalistic integrity on the part of the New York Times. Instead we shall probably be tormented by the daily toll of dead Iraqi civilians and maimed or killed American soldiers.

Before that happens, bring 'em on – Home, that is.

Douglas Herman, Alaska fisherman and Kodiak resident, is a USAF veteran.