Election Day in Iraq!!
Well today was a great day in history! The elections were held in Iraq. To be here at this inflection point in history is truly inspiring. We were witness (and a small part of) the first free elections in Iraq- a strategically critical country in the war against tyranny. Democracy has a chance here now in the Middle East- although the future is still not certain. Democracy and capitalism could lead to the end of poverty and oppression in the Middle East. It is hard not to be inspired!
Hopefully after today the process will continue moving forward for democracy. My experience on Election Day was interesting. I started the day in Fallujah where I had worked for two days with my Marine counterpart. We then flew to the western part of Baghdad, waited for hours at the airfield. At the airfield I sat with a proud Colonel from the Estonian Army- a member of our coalition- and thanked him for his nation’s support in Iraq. He was proud to help free others now that his country (Estonia) was free. We then flew over to Eastern Baghdad. I finished the day at the Embassy in Baghdad. I had nothing to do with the elections themselves. Yet I am proud to be around all of the people who made this happen: the men and women from the US; the men and women of Iraq; and all of the people throughout the world who supported these efforts to make this day happen.
The future is not only unknown but it is also unknowable. History will judge this day with the benefit of hindsight. But right now, on the 30th of January 2005, we do not have the fortune of knowing the future. We can only be grateful that the situation appears to be moving in the right direction and we should continue to exploit the initiative. We are only at the very beginning of a long process- but we should be encouraged by the most recent events in this newly democratic country.
Americans remember the horror of December 7, 1941 and honor our dead every year. For most Americans the name “Pearl Harbor Day” connotes a horrible day. But “Pearl Harbor Day” also represents a call to arms that helped defeat a terrible enemy- and then rebuild them into a prosperous, free and safe ally.
Many years from now, I hope that Americans will remember 9/11 and mourn our dead, but also find strength and pride in the actions of our country and our soldiers following that time. 9/11 will be to World War IV (see previous blog entry) as December 7th was to World War II. 9/11 will be the beginning of the war that freed the oppressed people of the Middle East.
On December 7th 1941 after the Japanese Navy had just completed a devastating attack on the United States Navy at Pearl Harbor, the leader of the surprise attack, Admiral Yamamoto, became very pensive in front of his subordinate officers. When asked why, he responded "I fear that all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant". He was very prophetic- for the very attack that was so successful, was the only way to mobilize the US public into a war that it have most likely avoided against the Japanese. Instead, he mobilized the nation of America like no other time in its past- sending American soldiers off to fight- sending American women off to work- and making the US into the mightiest industrial and military power in the world. The irony is that the very success of the attack on Pearl Harbor would be the primary reason that Japan would eventually be destroyed. "Remember Pearl Harbor" was the rallying cry that eventually led to the destruction of the Imperialist Japanese and opened the pathway for a free and prosperous Far East.
One of the most interesting repercussions of the attack on Pearl Harbor was the fact that we would not negotiate with the Japanese after that vicious attack. We demanded an unconditional surrender. Had they not attacked Pearl Harbor in such a manner and instead just declared war, we would most likely have gained territory and a trategic advantage and then negotiated a peace- leaving Tojo in charge. Instead, we demanded an unconditional surrender and then required a “regime change” and installed a democratic government. The Japanese didn’t get sovereignty for ten years after losing the war. Iraq now has a democratic sovereign country less than two years after the fall of Baghdad.
Likewise, I believe September 11, 2001 will turn out to be a cruel irony for those radical Islamic believers who would like to turn the Middle East back in time. Those radicals would prefer to isolate Islamic countries- enslaving the people and oppressing the women, and isolating them from the West under the guise of religion. The cruel irony is that the West would likely have remained disinterested in the lives of ordinary people in the Middle East had it not been for September 11th. The average person in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and many other Middle Eastern countries lived in an oppressed environment with few individual rights, desolate poverty and little hope.
Freeing them was not high on the priority list of the people of the West- and most western countries in the year 2000 would not risk one life of their countrymen to free anyone from the Middle East. Until September 11th, it was not in the national interests of the Western countries to spend limited resources on freeing these people. All that changed when Osama Bin Laden "awakened a sleeping Giant."
But how do you demand “unconditional surrender” of an illusive enemy like Al Qaeda- a non-state player? In my opinion- you do everything possible within political, diplomatic, and military means to promote and cause democracy and capitalism in the Middle
East.
It has been sixty years since Hitler's forces controlled most of Europe under the horrible Nazi regime. It has been fifteen years since the "Evil Empire" ruled with an iron fist over the peoples of Eastern Europe. These horrible regimes were forced from power by millions of people from dozens of nations- coming together to free the oppressed. Unfortunately, most human beings anchor their beliefs in the recent past. People tend to believe that because those events happened in the past that it was a foregone conclusion that Germany would be defeated and that ultimately the communist Iron Curtain would collapse. The reality is that those events were not forgone conclusions. People fought and died in order to cause those results- and at times the world was deeply pessimistic about the outcome.
Fifty years from now when the Middle East is a prosperous and free region, people will look back on these critical inflection points in history that caused them to get to that prosperous time later history. Ironically, Osama Bin Laden's tactics to turn the Middle East back in time to the 5th century will have ironically caused the future to turn out exactly the opposite of his goals. The people of the Middle East will in a short time (in an historical sense) transition from poor, oppressed masses, to free, prosperous and productive societies.
One of the reasons that America is so great and prosperous is that every person has a voice and can make a difference. Within a country the size of the US- a country of 290 million it could be easy to get lost and not feel like one person could make a difference- but children grow up feeling that they can make a difference in America. Our military reflects the same attitude. Every soldier can make a difference. Our soldiers today are motivated, creative and industrious. This attitude has permeated our military for over two hundred years. In 1981 during his inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan talked about a soldier from my division- the 42nd Infantry- the Rainbow Division. This soldier had served during World War I in France. President Reagan gestured towards Arlington Cemetery and said “under one such marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.
We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, "My Pledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."
Our soldiers still have this attitude. People in countries like Japan, Germany, France, Denmark, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and many other democracies have this same attitude. Now people in Iraq risk their lives to vote. They are willing to make an unselfish act (voting) to make their country better at the risk of their very own life.
Osama Bin Laden should have studied physics. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. He attacked New York City. He attacked America. He attacked democracy. He did so to lead his movement into controlling and oppressing the people of the Middle East. Iraq is now a democratic country. Afghanistan is now a democratic country. Someday the whole Middle East will be democratic, free, and prosperous. His very actions caused the opposite results than he was seeking. The free people of Iraq have the actions of a madman to thank for their freedom. Exactly what the madman hoped to avoid.
It is exciting to live through a day in history that is so positive, so filled with hope, and so successful. There will be dark days ahead but freedom is on the march in the Middle East!
Hopefully after today the process will continue moving forward for democracy. My experience on Election Day was interesting. I started the day in Fallujah where I had worked for two days with my Marine counterpart. We then flew to the western part of Baghdad, waited for hours at the airfield. At the airfield I sat with a proud Colonel from the Estonian Army- a member of our coalition- and thanked him for his nation’s support in Iraq. He was proud to help free others now that his country (Estonia) was free. We then flew over to Eastern Baghdad. I finished the day at the Embassy in Baghdad. I had nothing to do with the elections themselves. Yet I am proud to be around all of the people who made this happen: the men and women from the US; the men and women of Iraq; and all of the people throughout the world who supported these efforts to make this day happen.
The future is not only unknown but it is also unknowable. History will judge this day with the benefit of hindsight. But right now, on the 30th of January 2005, we do not have the fortune of knowing the future. We can only be grateful that the situation appears to be moving in the right direction and we should continue to exploit the initiative. We are only at the very beginning of a long process- but we should be encouraged by the most recent events in this newly democratic country.
Americans remember the horror of December 7, 1941 and honor our dead every year. For most Americans the name “Pearl Harbor Day” connotes a horrible day. But “Pearl Harbor Day” also represents a call to arms that helped defeat a terrible enemy- and then rebuild them into a prosperous, free and safe ally.
Many years from now, I hope that Americans will remember 9/11 and mourn our dead, but also find strength and pride in the actions of our country and our soldiers following that time. 9/11 will be to World War IV (see previous blog entry) as December 7th was to World War II. 9/11 will be the beginning of the war that freed the oppressed people of the Middle East.
On December 7th 1941 after the Japanese Navy had just completed a devastating attack on the United States Navy at Pearl Harbor, the leader of the surprise attack, Admiral Yamamoto, became very pensive in front of his subordinate officers. When asked why, he responded "I fear that all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant". He was very prophetic- for the very attack that was so successful, was the only way to mobilize the US public into a war that it have most likely avoided against the Japanese. Instead, he mobilized the nation of America like no other time in its past- sending American soldiers off to fight- sending American women off to work- and making the US into the mightiest industrial and military power in the world. The irony is that the very success of the attack on Pearl Harbor would be the primary reason that Japan would eventually be destroyed. "Remember Pearl Harbor" was the rallying cry that eventually led to the destruction of the Imperialist Japanese and opened the pathway for a free and prosperous Far East.
One of the most interesting repercussions of the attack on Pearl Harbor was the fact that we would not negotiate with the Japanese after that vicious attack. We demanded an unconditional surrender. Had they not attacked Pearl Harbor in such a manner and instead just declared war, we would most likely have gained territory and a trategic advantage and then negotiated a peace- leaving Tojo in charge. Instead, we demanded an unconditional surrender and then required a “regime change” and installed a democratic government. The Japanese didn’t get sovereignty for ten years after losing the war. Iraq now has a democratic sovereign country less than two years after the fall of Baghdad.
Likewise, I believe September 11, 2001 will turn out to be a cruel irony for those radical Islamic believers who would like to turn the Middle East back in time. Those radicals would prefer to isolate Islamic countries- enslaving the people and oppressing the women, and isolating them from the West under the guise of religion. The cruel irony is that the West would likely have remained disinterested in the lives of ordinary people in the Middle East had it not been for September 11th. The average person in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and many other Middle Eastern countries lived in an oppressed environment with few individual rights, desolate poverty and little hope.
Freeing them was not high on the priority list of the people of the West- and most western countries in the year 2000 would not risk one life of their countrymen to free anyone from the Middle East. Until September 11th, it was not in the national interests of the Western countries to spend limited resources on freeing these people. All that changed when Osama Bin Laden "awakened a sleeping Giant."
But how do you demand “unconditional surrender” of an illusive enemy like Al Qaeda- a non-state player? In my opinion- you do everything possible within political, diplomatic, and military means to promote and cause democracy and capitalism in the Middle
East.
It has been sixty years since Hitler's forces controlled most of Europe under the horrible Nazi regime. It has been fifteen years since the "Evil Empire" ruled with an iron fist over the peoples of Eastern Europe. These horrible regimes were forced from power by millions of people from dozens of nations- coming together to free the oppressed. Unfortunately, most human beings anchor their beliefs in the recent past. People tend to believe that because those events happened in the past that it was a foregone conclusion that Germany would be defeated and that ultimately the communist Iron Curtain would collapse. The reality is that those events were not forgone conclusions. People fought and died in order to cause those results- and at times the world was deeply pessimistic about the outcome.
Fifty years from now when the Middle East is a prosperous and free region, people will look back on these critical inflection points in history that caused them to get to that prosperous time later history. Ironically, Osama Bin Laden's tactics to turn the Middle East back in time to the 5th century will have ironically caused the future to turn out exactly the opposite of his goals. The people of the Middle East will in a short time (in an historical sense) transition from poor, oppressed masses, to free, prosperous and productive societies.
One of the reasons that America is so great and prosperous is that every person has a voice and can make a difference. Within a country the size of the US- a country of 290 million it could be easy to get lost and not feel like one person could make a difference- but children grow up feeling that they can make a difference in America. Our military reflects the same attitude. Every soldier can make a difference. Our soldiers today are motivated, creative and industrious. This attitude has permeated our military for over two hundred years. In 1981 during his inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan talked about a soldier from my division- the 42nd Infantry- the Rainbow Division. This soldier had served during World War I in France. President Reagan gestured towards Arlington Cemetery and said “under one such marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.
We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, "My Pledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."
Our soldiers still have this attitude. People in countries like Japan, Germany, France, Denmark, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and many other democracies have this same attitude. Now people in Iraq risk their lives to vote. They are willing to make an unselfish act (voting) to make their country better at the risk of their very own life.
Osama Bin Laden should have studied physics. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. He attacked New York City. He attacked America. He attacked democracy. He did so to lead his movement into controlling and oppressing the people of the Middle East. Iraq is now a democratic country. Afghanistan is now a democratic country. Someday the whole Middle East will be democratic, free, and prosperous. His very actions caused the opposite results than he was seeking. The free people of Iraq have the actions of a madman to thank for their freedom. Exactly what the madman hoped to avoid.
It is exciting to live through a day in history that is so positive, so filled with hope, and so successful. There will be dark days ahead but freedom is on the march in the Middle East!
posted by Dan at 11:49 PM
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