Problems Across the Ocean

The recent outbreak of fighting between Sunnis and Shiites is disheartening for those who are hoping the best for Iraq. I was watching a program on PBS’ Frontline. One of the US officers pointed out something very crucial to analyzing our intervention in Iraq. He said that the goals of the insurgents are very easy to accomplish. They are trying to create chaos; that’s all they have to do. They don’t have to build anything, try to create a coalition, or create wealth. They can choose which government or community leader to kill, what target to blow up and capitalize on the destruction they create. They choose the time and place of attack. The US and the Iraqis creating a viable government don’t know the time and place of attack. They have to stand ready to defend many places where the insurgents could attack.
The US and the Iraqis who are trying to rebuild their nation have a much more difficult goal to accomplish. They have to bridge the differences between Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites. They have to create enough wealth to overcome all the devastation that has occurred in their nation in the last 14 years (they hadn’t completely rebuilt from the Desert Storm war back in 1991). They have to try to produce oil and counter a force that works very hard to prevent oil from being produced.
Now bombs have blown up Shiite and Sunni mosques alike sowing even more dissension and anger between both religious groups. While there are Iraqis preaching for unity, there ranks of those who don’t think Shittes and Sunni can work together have grown since the outbreak of bombings. This, in turn, has led to more American troops dying trying to restore order.
The problem with all of this is that there are some forces that are beyond the American military’s control. We can’t control how much the Shiites & Sunnis dislike each other; we can’t control how many bombs will blow up mosques. We don’t know where insurgents and people who want to retaliate will strike next. The recent events point out the futility of the US involvement in Iraq.
I am not saying that we should withdraw tomorrow. I am also not saying that the efforts for Iraqis to restore their nation are futile (what other choice do they have?). But the recent events show that Iraq can easily turn into a quagmire despite the best efforts of not only the Americans but also the Iraqis wanting to rebuild their own nation.