The Humbling of a Nation

Risks are always present when there are flagrant demonstrations of pride, lofty pomp and circumstances, and even more possibility of disaster when there is outright arrogance. All of these and more have been a part of this nation's current leadership behavior, as this nation's military marched into Iraq over the objections of the world.

Bush, Cheney (from behind the scenes, of course--he has been in hiding since September 11, 2001) and Rumsfeld have all swaggered, as they spoke so manly about our exploits and adventures into the small nation in the Middle East, Iraq, a nation of some 24 million people.

Bush was so muscular in his rhetoric that he gave Saddam Hussein 48-hours to get out of his own nation. So personal was this machismo, a person overhearing this ultimatum would think that the president was actually going to personally and physically go to Iraq and fight a one on one duel with the man.

From their bully pulpits, our leaders vented almost vitriolic declarations against Iraq, while assuring the world that this nation needed no one, would listen to no one, and would allow no one in to Iraq to pick, as one reporter put it, the low hanging fruit of oil contracts, but itself and Britain. In spite of what the world thought, said, or did, the US would led an invasion campaign with a coalition of the willing, especially of the new Europe. And so we and our ragtag coalition of the willing and Britain invaded a sovereign nation, using a questionable rationale that has now gotten the muscular leaders of America and Britain into serious political troubles.

We crowed over our quick and not so decisive military victory, as if it were not assured; we barred the UN, their inspectors, and other militarily and financially powerful nations from Iraq; we positioned ourselves to go it alone in nation building--we would make Iraq in our own image, have a gas station that was our own, and we would change the course of the Middle East forever. How romantic we were, but a strange thing happened on the way to the office, as it were.

The brilliant military planning we showed and told the world about was not accompanied by a brilliant exit strategy. Rumsfeld abandoned the Powell Doctrine of having a clear exit plan, and the Iraqis did not open their arms and say, "Stay awhile." This nation's leaders forgot that Powell, not Rumsfeld, was in Vietnam; Powell, not Rumsfeld, is a military genius. Rumsfeld does well in his bully pulpit; there, he can talk a good show, but the theater of war is not a bully pulpit and not a place for macho words, but macho action.

This nation is now bogged down in a situation that bold military leaders who understand that Rumsfeld is drama not action, are speaking up and saying that American is now in another stage of this war; it's called Guerilla War. This is a type of war America's tanks and sophisticated weaponry cannot fight; a war type seen in Vietnam; this type is causing our troops to speak out against Rumsfeld and say he needs to resign. And so the bluster and machismo has gone out of our garrulous leaders.

So troubled are our leaders with the situation on the ground in Iraq that this nation is in--daily Americans troops are dying in this new phase of Guerilla War--that they are quietly seeking help from those traditional allies who strongly advised this nation and Britain against action without UN sanction. We have asked those nations for troops and financial aid for the rebuilding of Iraq. And not so quietly, those nations are turning us down one by one, unless the UN can have charge of that operation. And that coalition of the willing was never a true military coalition that made any difference. They were nations that were trying to curry favor with the US by allowing their names for purposes of saying there was a coalition. This was a US/UK mission.

From their once vaulted heights of an arrogance of US power, our leaders are now secretly holding out the cup for help. There is trouble in paradise, and gone is Rumsfeld of glee, now Colin Powell of US is pleading with other nations for help. How disgraceful we look. How humbled we are. What we are now experiencing can only be, what our historical allies warned us of, the uncertainties of war.

Will leaders ever see that all man made power is limited? Many people are beginning to see the war patterns and hear the echoes and horrors of Vietnam, the grumbling of our troops, the cranking up of our fickle media (after their bedding) and the hindsight analyses of pundits. These activities and noises do not predict well for the Bush Administration and this nation. For many see this administration has humbled this nation in the eyes of the world through rationalized adventurism that we may not be able to get out of as easily as we got into it. []

Frank A. Jones