March 5, 2017
“Foreign Policy: Iraq,
How Did We Get Here and Where Do We Go?”
While I don't pretend to be an expert on foreign affairs, I believed then and I believe now that our current problem (and it's not really a new problem since we were responsible for supporting the Shah of Iran for years, to the detriment of the Iranian people-is it any wonder that many of them resent, if not hate Americans) in the Middle East, specifically in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan stems from poor decisions made after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center towers.
Regardless of the many conspiracy theories which range from “it was an inside job” to “Saudi Arabia was really responsible,” putting the event itself aside, our mistake was in treating the attack as anything other than a “criminal” activity. For those who love the term “terrorist,” I get it; however, this wasn't the first attempt or the first successful bombing of an American building (remember the Murrah Bldg in Oklahoma City, 1995!) by someone. Timothy McVeigh was not a Muslim (Yes, there are several conspiracy theories which surround that bombing too!). At least that one was treated as a “criminal investigation” by the F.B.I. and other agencies. The WTC attack was NOT treated as a criminal activity; it was treated as an attack on the country. It probably was, but the evidence was gathered up as quickly as possible and disposed of with the same fervor. At least one naval ship was built using much of the steel recovered from the downed buildings. My question is, why wasn't proper forensic work done on every piece of debris, just as it would have been done in a normal criminal case? Whether it was political expediency or just sloppy police work, it really doesn't matter at this point.
My position was then and always has been that our attack on Iraq was more of a political theater event than anything else. Once the country was disarmed, we made our second mistake (the first being the attack because of 9/11). We put in power the Iraqi Shia Muslims which had been under the “iron boot” of Saddam Hussein's Sunni Muslims for twenty odd years. Sure, we warned them that the new “democratic?” government had better include the Sunni population if the new government was to survive. However, they didn't, and it created the atmosphere which reversed the “political and social” hierarchy for the country. The Kurds weren't all that concerned because they have always been somewhat “independent” within the country, even while under the control of Saddam.
My position then, just as it is now, was that Iraq should have been divided into three “countries” or “states within a united government umbrella,” although I didn't see the latter to be a viable concept. The United Nations could have been used as an interim force while the details were ironed out. In my estimation, the country should have been divided into natural Sunni, Shia, and Kurd “countries,” with the oil revenues divided based on a population-percentage split. The city of Baghdad should have become a “neutral” area under U.N. or Swiss police control as a meeting place for the three partners to share national defense and other common interests, while leaving the Shia, Sunni, and Kurd entities to govern themselves as they saw fit.
I still think that scenario is the solution going forward. ISIL grew out of the Sunni groups who felt that they had become second-class citizens in their own country, an understandable belief. It was the Shia's was to get “revenge” for what Saddam had done to them for years. Once the ISIL is driven out of Iraq, the three groups will once again be presented with an opportunity to create this new “country.” What is needed is leadership. Personally, I would like for the United States to propose such an agreement with the United Nations being the entity which brings the parties together and mediate the terms on which each could agree. It wouldn't end the enmity between the Shia and the Sunni, but it could lead to peace and prosperity for everyone.
Robert Butler
P.O. Box 193
Marmaduke, AR 72443
"...Therefore, never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee...: Meditation 17 by John Donne 1624
