Winning Hard Hearts and Minds of Iraqis?

The United States often seeks to win the "hearts and minds" of the countries in which we have a military presence, to wit: Iraq. It seldom works well, but the U.S.A. put billions of dollars into their country's road works, water systems, electrical grids, and schools. We often fund their health care and even pay their army and police at times.

We have been doing this for some time in Iraq, propping up that country with our "blood and treasure" hoping that they will like us. We think we are nice people, so what's not to like? And we ARE nice people, no doubt, trying to make things better for their people as well.

Recently in Arizona an Iraqi immigrant was accused and later arrested in London after running down his own daughter with his car in a parking lot; she was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Apparently he thought she was getting too "westernized." If this is the mindset of even a few Iraqis about us westerners, then how can we ever overcome their hatred for what the collective "we" represents? We love democracy, rule of law, freedom of religion, and equality - among many other great tenets of freedom.

But if an Iraqi father will run over his own daughter because she has shamed him in some way by being too "westernized", then the battle is lost, not to mention the war. You have to wonder why this man moved his family to the "west" if he didn't want them "westernized"? Pray for the 20 year old girl.