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novapsycheLost in Our Own Little World
Here, the debate about Iraq is almost completely focused on what the war has or has not done for the United States. Two concerns we all feel: How long will our soldiers' lives be at risk? Are Americans safer from the threat of terrorist attack? Other concerns seem a little abstract: Will U.S. military readiness be sapped by the construction of 14 "enduring" bases in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins? What course of action best demonstrates the firmness of our will? Though these questions spark much disagreement among politicians and policymakers, a bipartisan consensus holds that the U.S. cannot cut and run from Iraq because its standing as a world power would suffer grievously.
Our self-centered national debate starts with the assumption that Iraqis want the U.S. military to stay, as Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said after the brutal slayings of four American security contractors in Fallujah, "until the job is done." Because there are few Iraqi voices in the American media, the public has precious little ability to fact-check this conventional wisdom. The White House cites a series of polls, most recently one conducted by Oxford Research International for the BBC and other broadcasters, showing that a majority of Iraqis believe they are better off today than under Saddam Hussein. The administration assumes this must also mean that Iraqis welcome the occupation. But Iraq is full of reasons to doubt this optimistic view.
Here, the debate about Iraq is almost completely focused on what the war has or has not done for the United States. Two concerns we all feel: How long will our soldiers' lives be at risk? Are Americans safer from the threat of terrorist attack? Other concerns seem a little abstract: Will U.S. military readiness be sapped by the construction of 14 "enduring" bases in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins? What course of action best demonstrates the firmness of our will? Though these questions spark much disagreement among politicians and policymakers, a bipartisan consensus holds that the U.S. cannot cut and run from Iraq because its standing as a world power would suffer grievously.
Our self-centered national debate starts with the assumption that Iraqis want the U.S. military to stay, as Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said after the brutal slayings of four American security contractors in Fallujah, "until the job is done." Because there are few Iraqi voices in the American media, the public has precious little ability to fact-check this conventional wisdom. The White House cites a series of polls, most recently one conducted by Oxford Research International for the BBC and other broadcasters, showing that a majority of Iraqis believe they are better off today than under Saddam Hussein. The administration assumes this must also mean that Iraqis welcome the occupation. But Iraq is full of reasons to doubt this optimistic view.