Iraqi’s don’t think they are doing well
In a poll by USA today, ABC News, the BBC and ARD (German TV), most Iraqis don’t think their lives are going well. In this poll 2,212 Iraqis were surveyed. Well at least the asked a good cross section.
Most people who read this blog probably think I am anti-war. That’s not really the case, I am for just war or fighting the right war. Fighting someone else’s civil war is rarely the right or just thing to do.
When it comes to Iraq, I don’t think we should have gone. But, since we did go we have to fight the war to win. I am not sure how we define victory as a country but in my mind I define it as turning the country of Iraq back over to self rule.
So, I read these surveys somewhat seriously. I want the Iraqis to want to be in charge of their destiny to have their own definition of freedom and government. But when I read these surveys and the responses I get discouraged. Its not just the questions and responses but the detailed answers that some people give will often give you more insight than the survey itself.
I see a huge difference between how we (Americans) see the world and how the Iraqi’s see the world. They don’t seem to be taking charge of their own destiny and making self rule work. Granted this is hard work, and it takes sacrifice in order to achieve this goal. But do they want it?
If you look at the middle-east region as a whole, the only way to successful rule their is ruling with the fist. I look at the former Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia as examples of how to successfully rule in the region. They don’t try to rule nicely, I guess if the people are more worried about their government they will behave in a civil manner toward each-other.
Here is a quick example:
“I can say that my house is like a police station now,” said Samer Jaleel, 22, a Sunni student. “The outer wall is 2.5 meters (just over 8 feet) high. We changed the doors into higher and stronger ones. Not only us, but all the houses in the street did the same. Before, we had a very nice street where you could walk and see the gardens. Now it looks like many small jails in one street.”
So, their solution to the security problem is to hunker down and wait it out. This is something that keeps amazing me. For the “insurgents” to succeed they have to have either willing help or passive help. There comes a time when one must rise up and control their own destiny or die trying. If all the people in Iraq would rise up and stop the insurgents the problems would end.
I am not saying they need to pick up arms and fight the insurgents themselves, I think that would be a bad plan. But, they can deny them shelter, deny them food and report their locations and groups to the officials. With no shelter, no food and constant hunting they would quickly go away.
Instead they all build their own fortresses and control their fortress, effectively throwing their neighbors to the wolves. Expand your walls to include your neighbor, then your block, then your neighborhood and then expand them to include your country. Then you will defeat the people that are at war with you.
The people there have let themselves be sucked into a war with themselves by their enemy. Their enemy blows up a Mosque and so they attack their neighbor in response. How about attacking the people who are committing the acts instead of your neighbor. When your neighbors Mosque gets blown up, quickly rush to help the wounded and help them rebuild their Mosque.
Maybe this is the real problem. They are so used to not living free, that they are not willing to die to be free. The majority would rather live than be free and to that they end they would succumb to the tyranny of the minority. Keep your head down and live, thats how you survive a tyrant. That is obviously foreign to our way of thinking.