He also explains the willingness of many of his fellow soldiers who believe in the mission in Iraq to go back for second, third, or even more tours of duty. And he's careful to point out that a sizeable number of soldiers in Iraq aren't as optimistic.When I told people that I was getting ready to head back to Iraq for my third tour, the usual response was a frown, a somber head shake and even the occasional "I'm sorry." When I told them that I was glad to be going back, the response was awkward disbelief, a fake smile and a change of subject. The common wisdom seems to be that Iraq is an unwinnable war and a quagmire and that the only thing left to decide is how quickly we withdraw. Depending on which poll you believe, about 60 percent of Americans think it's time to pull out of Iraq.
How is it, then, that 64 percent of U.S. military officers think we will succeed if we are allowed to continue our work? Why is there such a dramatic divergence between American public opinion and the upbeat assessment of the men and women doing the fighting?
...[I]t is not a simple thing to ignore genuine optimism from mid-grade, junior and noncommissioned officers who have spent much of the past three years in Iraq. We know the streets, the people and the insurgents far better than any armchair academic or talking head. As military professionals, we are trained to gauge the chances of success and failure, to calculate risk and reward. We have little to gain from our optimism and quite a bit to lose as we leave our families over and over again to face danger and deprivation for an increasingly unpopular cause. We know that there are no guarantees in war, and that we may well fail in the long run. We also know that if we follow our current plan we can, over time, leave behind a stable and unified country that might help to anchor a better future for the Middle
East.
...Experienced military officers know that the horror stories, however dramatic, do not represent the broader conditions there or the chances for future success. For every vividly portrayed suicide bombing, there are hundreds of thousands of people living quiet, if often uncertain, lives. For every depressing story of unrest and instability there is an untold story of potential and hope. The impression of Iraq as an unfathomable quagmire is false and dangerously misleading.
For those who favor either an immediate or a phased withdrawal, it would be easy to write off this soldier's impressions as seeing the trees and not the forest. To do so however is condescending and insulting, and we do it at at our own risk, as the view of the average soldier in Iraq is at least as worthy as countless op-eds and analysis of the war in our own media, or conferences, panels or what-not on Capital Hill and in the White House. In considering the future of our operations in Iraq, every viewpoint, no matter how insignificant, is important.
It is fair to analogize between this soldier in Iraq, and his forbears in Vietnam. There are many Vietnam veterans who persist in believing in the myth that they were forced to fight with one hand tied behind their back, and that "politicians" and the left were to blame for our defeat. But I've already talked about both the similarities and the differences between Vietnam and Iraq, and I believe that the differences are considerable enough so that any soldier's cautious optimism about Iraq is as valid as the average war opponent's pessimism.
Whether or not Major Connable's impressions are correct, and his optimism warranted, it's important to remember that his desire to continue his service in Iraq in the hopes of bringing peace to the country is desire worth honoring. We should respect both our soldier's opinions (including the ones who disagree with Connable) and their sacrifices.
4 comments:
you have to guess that many soldiers feel that they have a heavy investment in iraq. i would bet that most soldiers want to see something come from that investment, otherwise, any sacrifice they have made will seem wasted.
I guess we could chalk it up to PTSD. But I think optimism is the key to understanding the perverse attitude of some soldiers and marines (especially officers) towards the war.
Optimism is a force multiplier, and Marine officers are people who are inherently optimistic about anything they endeavor to do in their professional capacity. They are also part of an institution that reinforces that mental attitude. And that's a good thing, since it is very likely to be associated with success.
On the other hand, there is a reason that the cheerleaders don't get to call the plays.
Despite the ignominious performance of our military leaders in Iraq, and my greatly diminshed regard for the military as an institution, I still have a lot of respect for individual officers. But I don't think our foreign policy should be swayed by their perceptions of the war.
Neil
I'd say that your quote, "there is a reason that the cheerleaders don't get to call the plays" is better applied to a bunch of bloggers than somebody who was actually a part of the war. Can you even admit that the soldiers might see something positive in the war effort that the media doesn't report?
That's an irrelevant argument. We're not talking about whether the media reports good news, but whether the bad things that are happening are worth suffering for the eventual creation of an Iraq when we don't know what the final result will be. Yes, schools are opening (for a very privileged few) and water runs for some people some of the time (same for electricity) but that doesn't matter when the issue is whether our troops' sacrifices will be worth it in the long run.
Anyway, on the issue we're actually talking about, of course you're going to find many soldiers who are optimistic. You're also going to find many soldiers who are pessimistic. Notice how the only statistic is that "[...]64 percent of U.S. military officers think we will succeed if we are allowed to continue our work"? That's hardly even a useful statistic! So slightly more than half of our guys are "glass half-full". Well, nearly half are "glass half-empty". And that's not even counting enlisted. Isn't their opinion as valuable? Do they not know what they're talking about?
Personally, I think the only relevant point here is that many of our guys think the job could be done given enough time, men, and money. Well, most of us probably think the same! I think so, but that doesn't answer the question of whether or not we even have the time, men and money to give to this project, nor does it answer the question of how successful we might be if we did dedicate the effort to it.
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