Quote:The only way we'll foster a decent government in Iraq is if every day we turn a little more power over to Iraqis and create the economic conditions where Iraqis can be successful. The more we empower Iraqis, the less humiliated they will feel, the more time we will have to help them and the less they will need our help.
This is exactly why I believe it is important we don't abandon Iraq. We need to make it a slow withdrawal in order to not leave a vacuum and lack of Iraqi-empowered leadership in our place. Doing things such as destroying ancient orchards does nothing to move us toward that goal.
Quote:Never, ever underestimate a people's pride, no matter how broken they might be. It is very easy for Iraqis to hate Saddam and resent America for overstaying. Tap into people's dignity and they will do anything for you. Ignore it, and they won't lift a finger. Which is why a Pakistani friend tells me that what the U.S. needs most in Iraq is a strategy of "dehumiliation and re-dignification."
American's know full well how empowering humiliation can be. Pearl Harbor and the World Trade Center are just two recent examples. It's too bad we seem to forget how empowering it can be when it is us doing the humiliating acts to others.
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