What War in Iraq?

There is no 'War in Iraq.' There hasn't been since Baghdad and the Saddam regime fell in 2003. Our operations in Iraq since then have been just policing actions. I've written about the 'Iraq War' myself. This blog even has an 'Iraq War' category. But, if you consider the difference between what we're doing in Iraq and the way wars are usually conducted, you have to admit that what's going on in Iraq is not a war.

The 'War in Iraq' is a lot like our 'War on Drugs.' Our government insists that we've been at war with the purveyors of illegal drugs in America for years, but we've made no significant progress. There are many reasons that we've made little progress in this 'war' -- and many reasons why we shouldn't be in it -- but the biggest reason is that the 'war' is crippled by its rules of conduct. And the reason it has these crippling rules of conduct is that it's a policing action and not a war at all. If it was a war we wouldn't have to get a court order to raid a suspect's home or business. We aren't serious enough about achieving the objectives of the 'War on Drugs' to be calling it a war. Neither are we serious enough about securing Iraq to be calling it a war.

In Iraq we have a lot of vague political objectives but no military objectives. The military is better suited to capture and hold operations than it is to 'persuade everyone to behave and learn to like us' operations. Most of the time we don't even know who is the enemy. The Iraqi elements fight among themselves and we stand by bemused by it all, not really knowing which element we want to prevail.

The only way to subdue and control the people of a foreign nation is to first beat them into submission. Take away everything they have and treasure and make them dependent. This would require destroying all their institutions and much of their infrastructure, killing or imprisoning all their leaders, and, of course, completely disarming them. Then, once all their hope is lost, ride in to their rescue and rebuild their lives for them giving them prosperity that they never knew before. Afterward, talk about returning to the old ways won't gain much traction. (Please understand that I'm not recommending that this is what should have been done in Iraq. I'm simply saying that given the objective of turning Iraq into an America-like democracy, this is the only approach that would work. I've said before that I think we should have left Iraq to the Iraqis as soon as we captured or killed Saddam, his sons and most of his henchmen.)

In the future I hope we don't go to war unless it is absolutely critical to our survival as a free nation. When we do I hope we really mean it and are prepared to see it through (that means do what is neccesary to win).

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