Those horrifying photos of American soldiers humiliating Iraqi prisoners in Saddam's former jail of Abu Ghraib is the visual culmination of how much the world -- and especially the Arab world -- views our presence in the region. Photographs of naked and bound Iraqis mocked by their American and British captors have seized the front page of every major newspaper and media source in the world, ranging from The New York Times to Al Jazeera. Our mission, once seemingly so simple and righteous -- liberating an oppressed people from a brutal grip of a tyrant, now appears so foggy and muddy. Even thousands of miles away, our country is being torn apart at the seams as politicians juggle responsibility and blame. How could we have deviated from such a venerable venture? What can be done?
As more repugnant prison photos leak out to the public, Muslim disdain towards America has increased. Protests against the American "occupation" have spread from Baghdad to Istanbul. America's last shreds of good will in the region have clearly been squandered. Recently, it seems that America has the recurring bad habit of humiliating her enemies. In the span of three years, the United States has scoffed at international alliances, pulled a hubristic dictator toting a rat's nest of a beard from a "spider-hole" and strong-armed those who dare question her well-devised plan for Iraq. This intrepid neo-conservative ideology undoubtedly achieves results, but at what cost?
The damning photos of Abu Ghraib have indeed caused many of the ever-present, growing anti-Bush to further question America's current involvement in Iraq, the Middle East and the world. The rising casualty count has prompted some critics, notably Sen. Edward Kennedy, to term Iraq as "George Bush's Vietnam." Don't get me wrong; those who were against the war are clearly entitled to voice their opinion without being accused of anti-patriotism. But I find it disheartening that they offer no concrete alternatives. The lack of constructive criticism leads me to believe that these critics would like to see the Bush administration fail, even if it means the derailing of the creation of a democratic Iraq. That's to say, what does calling Iraq the "next Vietnam" accomplish, other than the erosion of popular support for its reconstruction. The Vietnam War lasted almost 20 years, claimed more than 55,000 American deaths and endured five presidencies. The Iraq War, a year old, has a combat death toll of fewer than 500. And unlike Vietnam, Bush has already set a tentative hand-over date for Iraqi sovereignty. Clearly, this loaded comparison is specious- its goal to frighten the American public during the election year.
The amorphous enemies in Vietnam were well organized, well funded and supported by the Vietnamese populace. The thugs attacking Americans, Iraqis and foreign aide workers, by contrast, are not backed by the majority of Iraqis and have little support from the outside world; there are miniscule, fragile terror units. They are also quite splintered, ranging from disgruntled Baathists to die-hard Al Qaida supporters. Far from the Vietnamese, sheer determination can clearly crush the life from these small, pernicious pockets of resistance. Take the coalition's brute extinguishing of insurrections of Najaf and Fallujah. These are not the same enemies encountered in the jungles of South East Asia 30 years ago.
Though successful in physically snuffling out these anti-American groups, America needs to step up her battle for the hearts and minds of Iraqis. Unfortunately, the prison debacle serves as more fodder for anti-American elements, as well as more worldwide condemnation. No army is perfect, not even ours, but this torture is inexcusable. Despite Rumsfeld's pre-war planning, his seemingly nonexistent post-war plan and culpability for the prison-abuse scandal is Bush's ticket to sack him. War is too high-stakes for mistakes. And as much as I respect Rumsfeld, the only way to try to repair the damage to America's reputation is to show our commitment to Iraq's future.
As Condoleezza Rice said, "There is no silver bullet for Iraq." Though we've made some mistakes in Iraq, we've also made great progress. Iraq is teetering on the verge of democracy and on chaos. Democracy is a wonderful prospect that could have never been envisioned under the tyrannical region of Hussein. However success can only be achieved through a victory of public relations in Iraq -- a war we are losing.
