AS THE United States and its allies attempt to free Iraq of former dictator Saddam Hussein and finally bring peace to that troubled nation, the U.S. military has fashioned a new plan to try to restore some modicum of morale to American forces. The military has commissioned a set of billboard posters which feature Saddam Hussein's head superimposed over the bodies of past American music and film stars such as Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rita Hayworth and Elvis Presley ("U.S. Deploys Zsa Zsa Saddam," CNN.com, Aug. 18).
The U.S. military believes that aside from bolstering troop morale, these humorous images will aid the peacekeeping effort in Iraq in other ways. The posters will reinforce the fact that Hussein's rule has crumbled, bring out troublemakers and guerrillas still loyal to Saddam who are offended by the images, help the psyches of many Iraqis who were terrorized by Hussein and his regime and also provide Iraqis with a good laugh. Many aspects of the pictures, however, such as the gold crucifix on the Billy Idol poster and the exposed body parts on some of the female bodies, may go against the tenets of the Islamic faith and offend Iraqis. Because of the propensity to cause more harm than good to the current relations between Iraqis and American troops, the American military should reevaluate posting these images on billboards.
Interaction between the Iraqis and allied forces in Iraq are growing more strained by the day. Most days bring reports of attacks or civil unrest directed at peacekeeping forces, which many Iraqis resent and consider an occupying force. Iraqi citizens are even being targeted for attacks for aiding the United States or other coalition forces. In the same vein, Iraqi popular opinion is turning ever more sour concerning the United States. Aside from the previously mentioned foreseeable conflicts over the billboard posters, there is also the possibility that the billboards may be seen as a method of disseminating and in a way forcing American culture onto the Iraqis. This may further anger Iraqi citizens and make the work of allied peacekeeping forces increasingly difficult.
The images may also be seen as being in bad taste by the brutalized Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein and his regime committed atrocious crimes against humanity and oppressed an entire nation. For many who were raped or brutalized by the regime, or had friends and families who were, the U.S. Military's method of poking fun at Saddam Hussein may not seem comical but instead offensive.
Perhaps the U.S. military should consider performing marketing studies on the Iraqi population to gauge the response to the billboards. Although allied forces find the images comical, that might not be the reaction across cultural lines. Since the current goals of the United States in Iraq are to restore the infrastructure of the nation and provide the citizens of Iraq with opportunities and a newfound pride in their nation, the U.S. military should try to ensure that something that they proactively engage in Iraq will have the desired effect. The billboards, may in a sense shoot allied forces in the foot as they may further polarize the Iraqi population against well-meaning allied intentions.
If a marketing study is conducted in Iraq and the results are found to be predominantly negative, the U.S. military should suspend the posting of these billboards. There are certainly other ways to raise troop morale that do not offend the citizens of Iraq. After all, it is the primary mission of the allied forces to restore Iraq and its people to better conditions. The United States will not accomplish this goal byactively offending the religious, cultural and political beliefs of these people. It is also arguable the United States troops would perhaps gain higher morale from being treated well by Iraqi citizens (which may not be the case if the posters offend the Iraqis) than from getting a brief chuckle from a humorous image. The United States must reexamine and further investigate the impact of these billboards on the Iraqi people before it makes the final decision to post them around Iraq.
(Alex Rosemblat's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at arosemblat@cavalierdaily.com.)
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