Donald Rumsfeld has signed off on the idea that America need no longer prevail in Iraq: Iraqis must do the hard work. Particularly for American nationalists, the implications are worrisome: it means a loss of control (at Obsidian Wings):
But there are other emotions, too. Less-freeing emotions. Emotions that seem better suited to sitting in a twin-prop in turbulence than being a citizen of the greatest nation on Earth in a battle for the soul of a liberated Iraq. Indeed, if you have always believed -- or, as I, have come to believe -- that Iraq is a central front in the war on terror, Rumsfeld's statement is frankly terrifying.
For here is what it means: If victory in Iraq is required to win the war on terror and our troops no longer hold the key to such victory, then we have given up part of our control over the course and conduct of a big part of the war. We have subcontracted a substantial part of our national defense to Iraq's fledgling security forces. We win, or lose, based on their -- not our -- efforts.
No comments:
Post a Comment