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I hope the final campaign to wipe out the remaining pockets of resistance in Iraq as begun. It takes time to stand up an army. It takes years to build a good one. This is likely a good test for the ING. They will gain some experience and, hopefully, some confidence.
It’s a little bit like teaching a child to ride a bicycle. You run along side them for a while holding up the bike. Then finally you let them go on their own. This battle and probably some more will involve U.S. troops. But eventually, if the Iraqi’s are the people we hope they are, they’ll do it on their own.
There has been much criticism for disbanding the army after our conquest of Iraq. Although it has been painful, I happen to think that was the right decision. Most Arab armies are worthless. The officers treat the enlisted guys like dirt. They are held together by intimidation and clan loyalty. A professional army has to be above that. The only way we could have a professional army in Iraq is by starting with a clean slate. That is what we’re doing and I think it will bear fruit.
No one knows what the future holds. I believe all we can do is pursue what seems right at the time. For every person willing to step out and lead, there are a thousand that will double-guess his/her every action.
I am heartened by Teddy Roosevelt, “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Let us, as a nation, be the ones in the arena, not the spectators.
Posted by Ted at October 2, 2004 3:19 PM