The Fog of Iraq

This morning I watched ‘The Fog of War’, a documentary film comprising of an extended interview with Robert S. McNamara, the secretary of defence under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

For me, McNamara’s discussion of the importance of ‘empathising with the enemy’ was the most interesting part of the film, especially as his ‘lesson’ has direct relevance for the US shambles in Iraq.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis John F. Kennedy was lucky enough to have someone at his side that knew the Soviet Premier Khrushchev well, and was able to predict (accurately as it turned out) the kind of compromise that Khrushchev needed in order to defuse the crisis without the need for war. Athough he may not be a household name, Tommy Thompson, the former US ambassador to Moscow may have saved more than a few households.

McNamara: “We must try and put ourselves inside their skin and look at us through their eyes, just to understand the thoughts that lie behind their decisions and their actions.”

Later in the film McNamara makes a very interesting comparison between the outcomes of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the War on Vietnam.

“In the Cuban Missile Crisis, in the end I think we did put ourselves in the skin of the Soviets. In the case of Vietnam, we didn’t know them well enough to empathise. And there was total misunderstanding as a result. They believed we had simply replaced the French as a colonial power and we were seeking to subject South and North Vietnam to our colonial interest, which was absolutely absurd. And we, saw Vietnam as an element of the Cold War. Not what they saw it as, a civil war."

The Bush Administration and the mainstream media have made no effort to empathise with Iraqis, and demonstrate a glaring ignorance of their history. As I have written before the consistent dismissal of the Iraqi opposition as terrorists, insurgents or militants, often with a suggestion of a possible connection to Jordanian extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, actually tells us very little. But the use of empty verbs does make it easier for those supporting the occupation to create the impression that any “violence” (but never US violence) is somehow without reason, or simply an attempt to ‘disrupt elections’.

In the Boston Globe, Molly Bingham writes why elections won't quell Iraq resistance.

The composition of the Iraqi resistance is not what the US administration has been calling it, and the more it is oversimplified the harder it is to explain its complexity....My objective is not to romanticize the fighters or their fight, but merely to better understand what our realistic choices are in Iraq and the Middle East.

Even a cursory glance of Iraq’s twentieth century history reveals a long struggle to gain and retain Iraqi independence, first from the Turks and then from the British. Even on the basis of recent history, it is reasonable for Iraqis to fear that the US will act like another colonial power, as the Americans have set up permanent military bases and have opened Iraq up for unrestricted US investment and repatriation of profits (read plunder). Halliburton now has effective control of the oil, thanks to ‘reconstruction’ contracts, and is very likely to be looking to ensure this control remains permanent.

I think the left has been a little unsure of itself in deciding whether or not to support the Iraqi resistance, largely because many have felt unsure about exactly what they were supporting. But a first step is to give up the erroneous impression, created by the occupiers, that the ‘insurgents’ represent a uniform group with the common goal of hating democracy. Attempting to ignore the resistance is a more common response. More understanding and empathy is required.

Much of the resistance sprung immediately in response to the illegal US invasion. Given the resistance is a nationalist response to the invasion, it seems safe to assume that no elections will be regarded as legimate while Americans remain in control of the political process.

Empathy is something the left usually does well. So lets have more of it.