GREAT ARTICLE - Richard Reeves: What Went Wrong In Iraq?

October 9, 2003
What Went Wrong In Iraq?
BY RICHARD REEVES | Universal Press Syndicate

WASHINGTON -- I was booed by some in an audience in Sarasota, Florida last March for saying that history might judge the invasion of Iraq as the beginning of the end of American empire. But, for better or worse, that is what is happening: We are pouring out our power, credibility, good intentions and blood into the sands of Arabia.

The embarrassment (or humiliation) of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld last week is the noisy echo of the quiet desperation in the White House about what to try next in our domination and occupation of a country farther away than we thought. After taking down Secretary of State Colin Powell for arguing that the job was tougher than it looked, and taking down the military for saying more troops were needed to occupy, President Bush is taking down Rumsfeld for his arrogant unilateralism within the administration.

Now it is Condoleezza Rice's turn. The torch, burning nearer to our fingers, has been passed to the National Security Advisor, the new boss of the new Iraq Stabilization Group.

How did it come this? History may find other reasons but so far some of our mistakes are obvious:

We misjudged the terrain. I don't mean the geography. We ignored the history of Iraq and its neighbors. We ignored the history of Arab and Kurdish nationalism, Sunni and Shiite Islam, and British and Turkish colonialism there.

We misjudged our own military strength and capabilities. It is beyond belief now that Rumsfeld and others believed, or at least said, that the United States could fight three wars like this at the same time. It is astounding that after a spectacular military victory, American military credibility has been diminished because the whole world knows we are not about to fight on the ground again unless we are directly attacked.

We misunderstood our enemies. We still think Iraqis want to be Americans, when they only want to be Iraqis with more freedom and better prospects.

We misunderstood our friends. We wrote off "Old Europe" -- silly, but fine -- then believed Turkey and Israel could resist the temptation to use our sacrifice to further their own interests and agendas.

We bribed the wrong people. Our money can be a clean weapon used to do dirty things -- in the right hands. But, as we should have learned in the Iran-Contra scandals and a hundred others, the most critical intelligence is used in weeding out the exiled hustlers and thieves waiting at every world border.

We misjudged the United Nations. Mocking the UN for two decades and more, we have helped create a body that can be mobilized as a temporary superpower to thwart the world's only superpower.

Those are mistakes that the nation must share. Yes, there were people who understood the misunderstandings, but they were too few or too timid to make a difference -- they could not muster the strength and will to, in William F. Buckley's phrase, to stand athwart history yelling "Stop!"

Then there are the mistakes of the President and the others we hired to represent us and run the country. These are things that went wrong at the heart of power in Washington:

We, the people, were not told the truth. If the American people knew then what they know now -- information that was available then -- there would not be Americans out there being shot at by people they don't know or understand.

The President misunderstood and misinformed Congress. Declarations and all that take time, patience and verifiable information, and the Bush White House was in a rush to war. Now Congress will come back to bite him.

Congress misunderstood the President and evaded their Constitutional duty. The cowards on a hill chose to believe what could not be shown in the hope they could escape responsibility and blame.

The President did not know what was needed to win (or maintain) the peace. No matter how many troops we deploy, we cannot control the terrain if those men and women lack the necessary intelligence, policing and linguistic skills. We need, for instance, our own Arabic speakers, rather than depending on the kindness of strangers.

We, the people, were not told the truth. Another truth is this: If the American people knew then what they know now -- information that was available then -- there would not be Americans out there being shot at by people they don't know or understand.

That last is the real lesson, not of Iraq, but of America. For this wonderful thing we have to work, we have to trust our leaders, particularly the elected elite. And for us to trust them, they have to trust us to deal with real truth.