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.

Funding Iraq - Am I Repeating Myself?

Last April 9 I wrote about the rank unfairness of the U.S. taxpayer having to pay to rebuild the infrastructure in Iraq. At that time it was noted that the Iraqi government had over $30 billion in its treasury, yet little was being spent to build the roads, the electric grid, schools, and the like.

Our own Ambassador served as the apologist for the Iraqi government saying it was complicated. I am sure it is and I had hoped that by now they would uncomplicate it a little and give us here in the U.S. a break.

Now we hear that their bank account has swelled to $79 billion. In April Ambassador Crocker told Congress that the U.S. wasn't funding rebuilding anymore. In August we hear differently. Why can't we get a decent answer, or better yet why can't we turn off the spigot? It is human nature to let others pay the way or take the risks if these others just keep doing it.

I hope Senator Carl Levin and others do not let this go this time. The Iraqis have to step up and pay their own bills. To be clear, I am not talking about all the funds we pour into Iraq. We fund our military and continue to fund the training of the Iraqi army and police force. I understand that some of this is necessary. But when the invoices come in the mail for the latest road or school, they should go to the Iraqi Finance Minister and not to the U.S. Treasury Secretary.

There are a lot of things that are complicated in this world and during this time of our own economic troubles, we have enough to worry about. Having to pay for Iraqi infrastructure while our own bridges, power grid, and roads continue to deteriorate, should not be one of them.

Funding Iraq - The Spigot is Wide Open

Listening to some of General Petraeus' testimony to Congress this week, one could hear between the sentences that all was not well with the war. The seeming success of the "surge" over the past months has now been tempered by the flareups lately. One word from al-Sadr and the whole region could return to pre-surge warfare with daily IED (roadside bombs) slaughters returning. That is indeed troubling and disheartening.

Another discouraging and irritating piece of news is that, contrary to original intentions, the U.S. taxpayer is still paying for the reconstruction of Iraq. This comes as no surprise until we hear that Iraq has over 30 billion dollars sitting in U.S. banks. Thirty billion dollars from their oil revenue now greatly enhanced by the windfall soaring oil prices.

And then to hear our own Ambassador to Iraq tell the panel that the reason for this is complicated. And to hear him lie and say that the U.S. is no longer paying for reconstruction. Are we not yet paying the salaries of 80,000 Iraqis holding government jobs?

They have to be nuts and deluded to think that our taxpayers will stand for that. We have so many needs in this country for those billions flowing so easily from our treasury. The Ambassador seems to be an apologist for the disorganized Iraqi government. They still have not made the benchmarks set for them. Their success at achieving those benchmarks was then to drive our commitment to troops and money and other support. They have failed miserably yet we continue to coddle them, send our overtaxed troops into battle zones, endure the mass desertion of U.S. trained Iraqis, and write the checks for the bills as they come due.

When will we stop this insanity? When we will begin to pay to rebuild our own eroding infrastructure like roads, bridges, schools, power grids, and so much more?

Wars are expensive and maybe we have to finish what we start, but do we have to be hoodwinked into paying for rebuilding Iraq's roads, bridges, schools, and power grids while they invest their $30,000,000,000 and make even more money?