Philocrites

Nation-building.

by Philocrites

Military power can't bring victory in Iraq, although it can finally destroy Saddam Hussein's horrifying hold on his country. What will bring victory is the part of the story President Bush seems less than fully candid about: the scale of the rebuilding project. Alan L. Isenberg offers three goals to rally around:

• "Let it be known that America will lead the reconstruction of Iraq, and don't be afraid to call it nation-building...

• "Define the mission's duration in terms of Iraqi needs, not Pentagon strategic preferences or American taxpayer frustrations...

• "Keep the grand domino hypothesis of the Wolfowitz Plan on the back burner, at least for now. The plan goes far beyond the imminent mission, asserting that a free Iraq that proves the viability of Arab democracy will lay the groundwork for democratization of the region and resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These goals will hopefully become realities, but now is not the time to talk about them. The more Iraqis view themselves as pawns in a grand chess game, the less receptive they will be to an American presence in their homeland."

I suspect that all the Democratic candidates for president will embrace goals quite similiar to these, but will the antiwar movement turn some of its energy toward these goals too? Or will it stay stuck in "pull out now" mode?

Copyright © 2003 by Philocrites | Posted 23 March 2003 at 11:20 PM

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