Iraq may be liberated, but the fight is far from finished
COMMENTARY
Ryan Salzman

And with Baghdad liberated and Iraqis breathing the sweet air of freedom, America mounted its great white steed and rode off into the sunset.

Writing a story about a country that completes its immediate goal of conquest in well short of a month could easily warrant an ending very similar to the one above. Even to the most cynical observer, this conflict was nothing less than a success.

I fear the next story might start: An irreconcilable darkness swept over Iraq with a lengthy occupation and continued loss of life that frustrated all parties involved for longer than could have ever been anticipated.

In order to avert this there are certain things we must do, things we must avoid and things we must simply be aware of.

I am glad that the war ended quickly but now we must correct the wrongs that the Iraqi people have been made to bear, both by the recent military campaign and by their former dictator. Many civilians have died (roughly 1,300 by one count) and the number is still growing at an alarming rate.

Most of those who died are hardly different from us. In The New York Times on March 14, there was a prominent article telling the story of a family whose house was struck by a U.S. missile. The article focused on the father and his recent return from the hospital where he was treated for a broken ankle and other less serious injuries. He had thought his three daughters were still hospitalized, but his wife was trying to find a way to tell him they were dead.

This is only one of many stories that we will be told soon. We must give them our sympathies.

The notion of American superiority that our culture is often criticized for should be suppressed. We must respect Iraqi culture and society. By avoiding this ethnocentricity, many of the social conflicts and criticisms that may arise could be at least lessened if not completely negated. One of the easiest ways to avoid this convenient trap is by recognizing propaganda as such.

There are still many questions that need to be answered and without these answers world opinion will never be swayed and this will hurt our long term credibility.

Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Can we fix the damage done by 12 years of sanctions? Can we afford what we have already done and what is yet to come? How, exactly, do we plan to rebuild Iraq?

I don’t see these being answered any time soon. In fact, it might just be easier to distract us. The threat of weapons of mass destruction was the initial reasoning for invading Iraq (for those who have forgotten) and we have a responsibility to those who have lost their lives to find them.

If we do not find them, we have no choice but to admit that we made a mistake. I sincerely hope that we have eliminated a serious threat and didn’t wage war on a hunch.

Ryan Salzman is a senior political science major from Temple.