REMEMBER back in 2003, when Americans learned about the horrible events that transpired at the Abu Ghraib prison facility in Iraq? Detainees became victims to the humiliating and denigrating bullying of good ole' American soldiers.
Undoubtedly, this didn't improve the Iraqi people's perception of U.S. involvement in their country. So, the United States made it clear that they wouldn't condone this type of behavior and punished those responsible for the Abu Ghraib incidents accordingly. The U.S. government should have realized, however, that punishing soldiers is far more facile than instructing soldiers to behave rightly. It's only recently that this message became clearer than ever.
James Barker, a U.S. Army specialist, along with four other soldiers, was charged with the premeditated murder and rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family in March 2006. And on Nov. 15, Barker pled guilty to rape and murder.
Given this recent incident, it's evident that the Iraqi citizens might justifiably be angered over the United States' continued presence. An already precarious relationship between American soldiers and Iraqi citizens has been severely and permanently wounded. The crux of the matter is that disrespect, to say the least, is a recurring problem in Iraq insofar as the conduct of American soldiers is concerned.
A World Opinion Poll of the Iraqi public indicated that 71 percent of Iraqis want the Iraqi government to ask the United States to withdraw forces within a year or less. The poll was also conducted across the major religious factions (e.g. Sunnis, Shias and Kurds) with the vast majority of each group indicating a desire for the withdrawal of American troops.
It's interesting that despite this large majority opinion that the United States should leave Iraq, Army General John Abizaid strongly advised that the United States exercise "flexibility" in withdrawal timetable rather than instituting an exit timetable. One line of reasoning against a withdrawal of troops in the near future resides in his belief that the United States "can stabilize Iraq."
On the contrary, 78 percent of the Iraqi people believe that the U.S. presence has an overall negative effect in Iraq, according to another WOP poll. According to the poll, many Iraqis are convinced that the United States provokes more conflict than it resolves.
Though Abizaid has argued for the United States' continued presence in Iraq, he has advised against bringing more troops to Iraq. Abizaid urges that "it is essential for us to change from us being into the lead to Iraqis being in the lead." The suggestion here is along the lines of self-determination.
Yet given that the poll accurately reflects the views of the Iraqi citizenry, self-determination would actually favor the exit of U.S. troops. Then, in fact, the apparently well-intentioned reasoning Abizaid offers flies in the face of genuine self-determination.
In any case, whether U.S. troops continue to hold out in Iraq or not, the perception of the American military, if not America itself, has suffered significantly. America's inability to quell the violence in Iraq coupled with the repugnant acts of a handful of American soldiers has convinced Iraqis that America needs to leave soon. It's only timely that our government reaches the same epiphany.
Perhaps with the reins of our government in the hands of new leadership, it might be possible to bring about a critical shift in policy in Iraq. And more importantly, opinions of America abroad will suffer less than it has during our involvement in Iraq.
Charles Lee's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at clee@cavalierdaily.com.
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