General Petraeus' War

Marra and I will be on the ground in New Hampshire in 30 days, talking about the problems facing our nation and the candidates' proposals to solve those problems. There is no problem more important this election cycle, none more prominent, than the war in Iraq, and I don't know how to discuss the issue with my 11 year old.

Like many New Millennium Parents (a phrase I just invented for myself - makes me sound young), I have sheltered my child from all kinds of scary real world situations. She is not allowed in the front seat of the car until she's 100 pounds. The passenger side air bag might deploy and injure her. She'll wear a bike helmet for the rest of her cycling life. We have to protect her from falling and hitting her head. I don't typically allow her to watch the nightly news. She might see a report on the latest sexual deviant attacking an innocent young girl. She's my baby, and we have to keep her safe and innocent for as long as possible, and maybe even longer than that.

Now when I was a kid, I learned about the ugly side of mankind a little sooner. I remember watching the news before going to grammar school, and the last report before the top of the hour each morning was the Vietnam War body count for the previous day. It would appear on the screen like the scores from yesterday's ballgames: Viet Cong: 241, USA 4. Every day, the body count differential was dramatically in favor of the USA, to the point when I finally had to ask, "If we keep killing all those Vietnamese, why aren't we winning?" Pretty good question, I thought. Of course, now I know the answer. We weren't winning because the "body count" numbers were propaganda (lies), and the war wasn't winnable.

So here I am today. Marra knows about the Iraq War, insofar as there is one happening, and it is in the Middle East. But the time is rapidly coming when I will shatter her innocence about the safety and security of her world, and her confidence in adults always doing the right thing and telling the truth. When we talk about the war, everything will get more complex, and more scary. There are no easy answers, and the truth is ugly.

Tonight, it got worse. W staged a televised addressed to the nation about the war for the 8th time, and he seemed even further detached from reality than ever. He was so detached, I believe that he thinks the American people have no capacity for storing thoughts beyond what we were just told. I am hoping we are not collectively that stupid.

Let's look at what W said:

We are in Iraq with 36 other countries, fighting terrorism. 36 other countries? You are kidding, right? Is there anyone on either the Right or Left that believes that our soldiers are shoulder to shoulder with an international coalition of fighters?

We have turned Anbar completely around, and now the population there feels safe. In fact, W says they no longer fear being beheaded. He then proceeds to tell viewers that the sheik who was most instrumental in supporting our efforts in that province was murdered this morning. At least he wasn't beheaded, which apparently in W's world means improvement.

Things are so good in Iraq, we'll be bringing troops home! Of course, the number we bring home will get the troop levels back to where they were before the surge began, no less. Honestly, does he think we're stupid? And they'll be home for Christmas...photo op time, soldiers at the White House, singing Christian carols with Cheney and W. I'm getting mad...

Do you know why W says we need to stay in Iraq? Because leaving is worse. That is a far cry from Colin Powell's 1991 preconditions for starting military action - a clear mission, overwhelming force and a clear way out. Plus, W adds, the Iraqi government wants us there. Well, no kidding, W, we installed this government and we are propping up this government, so it shouldn't be a badge of honor that they have decided that we should stay and protect them a bit longer.

Finally, W abdicated his role as Commander in Chief to Gen. Petraeus. Whatever Petraeus says, that's what we'll do. Well, Petraeus testified that the solution in Iraq will not be achieved militarily - he said it will be achieved politically. Maybe we should focus there for awhile.

So I return to my dilemma. How do I explain all this to Marra, when it doesn't make any sense? As of today, my plan is to present Iraq as a series of choices, none of which are good. Then I'll try to temper my outrage at the marketing of this war to the silent masses, who were told in October of 2001 that if we shop at the malls, then we defeat the terrorists. If only it were so.

JS