When we marched into Iraq to depose a tyrant and set up democracy, how little we knew of the demons we were unleashing. We should have studied the clay tablets and read the history of thousands of years of violence and resistance. What curses came as the treasures of Iraq's museums were scattered and looted on our arrival?
The Bush administration ignores literature, art, and history, except for revenge. The 1991 Iraq war left Saddam Hussein in power, thumbing his nose at the U.S. The lack of connection between Iraq and the September 11 attack, the given reason for war, made no difference to Bush. We were, in the president's words, embarked on a crusade. We were at war with terrorism itself.
Now, as we face burned bodies hung from bridges and savage beheadings of U.S. citizens, we find ourselves becoming not only victims of horror, but also perpetrators. Our soldiers are enacting the tortures and humiliations we told the world we are fighting to stop. Our awesome power is turning us into the torturers depicted on Uruk's seals.
Bush appointees assure us that despite the perversions of a few soldiers, we are making things better in Iraq. We shall yet win Iraq's hearts and minds. Thousands of years of history indicate otherwise. The dreams of President Bush have turned into unrelenting visions of death and suffering. Like Gilgamesh, Bush's arrogance brings punishment for us all.
There is no simple solution or easy exit for the U.S. from Iraq. The government we selected for the Iraqi people is inauthentic. The oil will not flow the way we want. What we need is the wisdom of T.E. Lawrence, an understanding of history and of an ancient culture alien to the Bush administration. Otherwise it is Al Qaeda that will win the hearts and minds of the Iraqis and the Arab world.
Jack Miller
