dantheman
07-08-2004, 02:54 PM
Location: Camp Ar Ramadi (Formerly known as Junction City)
First off, you guys are great! 8,600+ hits (and only a few hundred of those have been me, pumping up my own statistics!).
This post started its life a few weeks ago, when I began to write a little treatise on how we need be prepared to accept that an Iraqi Democracy is NOT going to be the same as American Democracy (or anybody else's democracy, for that matter), and more importantly, that that is okay. There is no required connection between democracy and not cutting off thieves' hands. As long as it's not ONLY Shia thieves that get chopped, or some such, then that IS Rule of Law... and if that's what they're down with, then that's okay. That aborted article went on to talk about how if we expected whatever unfolds to look like 21st Century Democracy in America then we were going to setting ourselves up for frustrated expectations. Hell, 1780 Democracy doesn't look much like 2004 Democracy, we've had internal civil wars, lots of strife, still the occasional church burning, the Marines having to guard US Mail trucks from bandits, etc. AND our closest ally still has a Queen! So it's okay if things aren't smooth, perfect and suitable for C-SPAN.
But then we flipped the switch on Transfer of Sovereignty early, which was unquestionably a good thing... but it caught ME out as far as my article posting went. Also it made for lots of extra meetings as we figure out the new equilibrium between being us (CF) and them (IIG). Again, England and America still adjust their relationships, so the fact that it isn't wired down tight a week afterwards doesn't particularly bother me. Whether it comes across in the news or not, at the local level, they are "getting" it... we've got employment programs up and running, essential services are being addressed, and the security forces are finding their niches. Now all we have to do is find OUR niche, and everything will be fine. Make no mistake, we still have a niche over here.
This is an interim posting... but I wanted to get something out there and to say thanks for the fantastic support from all of you. Life could be a LOT worse! I've got a cool TV/DVD combo that let's me watch both the movies you all have sent me and the ones I buy from Hadji... The PX is, despite bitching to the contrary, pretty well stocked and no necessities are unavailable... I've got air conditioning most of the time... I haven't been shot at in days (knock on wood)... and one way or another, it's getting closer to my time to return to the U.S.
My meetings these days are almost exclusively with government reps, military leaders, and city councils. Things are actually cranking along pretty well. Sometimes those meetings are very friendly, sometimes they are more directive in nature as we assist and mentor. Every now and then, they get a little tense... but if it weren't for the fact that those that really disagree express that by trying to blow us up, it's not a lot different than any other process back in the states. Okay, that's a bit of a stretch, but the seed of truth is there!
My confidence in this whole thing ebbs and flows, as is natural, but at the end of the day and when looked at objectively, I am confident that 1) a reasonable equilibrium will be reached in a relatively short period of time, 2) our presence here is and was CRITICAL to the success of a rational, broad-franchise government, and 3) there is sufficient human and matieral resource in this country for it to be a good place, fundamentally different than the surrounding countires... that's not a slam dunk - it could end up another Saudi Arabia, with little developed infrastructure, or a theocracy held back from meaningful advancement by entenched, terrified leaders.
We shall see. Probably not on CNN or Al Jazira... but we shall see.
:salute:
First off, you guys are great! 8,600+ hits (and only a few hundred of those have been me, pumping up my own statistics!).
This post started its life a few weeks ago, when I began to write a little treatise on how we need be prepared to accept that an Iraqi Democracy is NOT going to be the same as American Democracy (or anybody else's democracy, for that matter), and more importantly, that that is okay. There is no required connection between democracy and not cutting off thieves' hands. As long as it's not ONLY Shia thieves that get chopped, or some such, then that IS Rule of Law... and if that's what they're down with, then that's okay. That aborted article went on to talk about how if we expected whatever unfolds to look like 21st Century Democracy in America then we were going to setting ourselves up for frustrated expectations. Hell, 1780 Democracy doesn't look much like 2004 Democracy, we've had internal civil wars, lots of strife, still the occasional church burning, the Marines having to guard US Mail trucks from bandits, etc. AND our closest ally still has a Queen! So it's okay if things aren't smooth, perfect and suitable for C-SPAN.
But then we flipped the switch on Transfer of Sovereignty early, which was unquestionably a good thing... but it caught ME out as far as my article posting went. Also it made for lots of extra meetings as we figure out the new equilibrium between being us (CF) and them (IIG). Again, England and America still adjust their relationships, so the fact that it isn't wired down tight a week afterwards doesn't particularly bother me. Whether it comes across in the news or not, at the local level, they are "getting" it... we've got employment programs up and running, essential services are being addressed, and the security forces are finding their niches. Now all we have to do is find OUR niche, and everything will be fine. Make no mistake, we still have a niche over here.
This is an interim posting... but I wanted to get something out there and to say thanks for the fantastic support from all of you. Life could be a LOT worse! I've got a cool TV/DVD combo that let's me watch both the movies you all have sent me and the ones I buy from Hadji... The PX is, despite bitching to the contrary, pretty well stocked and no necessities are unavailable... I've got air conditioning most of the time... I haven't been shot at in days (knock on wood)... and one way or another, it's getting closer to my time to return to the U.S.
My meetings these days are almost exclusively with government reps, military leaders, and city councils. Things are actually cranking along pretty well. Sometimes those meetings are very friendly, sometimes they are more directive in nature as we assist and mentor. Every now and then, they get a little tense... but if it weren't for the fact that those that really disagree express that by trying to blow us up, it's not a lot different than any other process back in the states. Okay, that's a bit of a stretch, but the seed of truth is there!
My confidence in this whole thing ebbs and flows, as is natural, but at the end of the day and when looked at objectively, I am confident that 1) a reasonable equilibrium will be reached in a relatively short period of time, 2) our presence here is and was CRITICAL to the success of a rational, broad-franchise government, and 3) there is sufficient human and matieral resource in this country for it to be a good place, fundamentally different than the surrounding countires... that's not a slam dunk - it could end up another Saudi Arabia, with little developed infrastructure, or a theocracy held back from meaningful advancement by entenched, terrified leaders.
We shall see. Probably not on CNN or Al Jazira... but we shall see.
:salute: