Excerpt from Austin Bay's Blog Part 1

Now that I have my own blog, I thought I should post a couple of articles here that came from a good friends blog. Austin Bay and I served together in Iraq back in 2004 with the US Army III Corps (from Ft Hood). Here is an article that I wrote for him back in August 2005:

“Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on that strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The Statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. Antiquated War Offices, weak, incompetent or arrogant Commanders, untrustworthy allies, hostile neutrals, malignant Fortune, ugly surprises, awful miscalculations – all take their seat at the Council Board on the morrow of a declaration of war. Always remember, however sure you are that you can easily win, that there would not be a war if the other man did not think he also had a chance.”

I recently read the first volume of Winston Churchill’s fine memoirs and was struck by the above comment. In light of recent experiences not only in Iraq, but in a range of theatres where I and/or my friends have served, the above statement rings true. Looking past the fact that Winston Churchill was a great statesman who stood up to the great evils of Hitler, as a young man, he served in a range of conflicts at the behest of Queen and Country – a man who had seen the face of war in all of its terrible splendour and sadness.

One of the great tragedies of operations that the US, Australia and their allies have been on, as well as operations led by the UN, has been an unwillingness to stay the course. The politicians who stand up for principles and seek to thwart those who do humanity an injustice run a great risk – they live in democratic countries and sometimes the domestic political cost can be too high. Deploying to Somalia, East Timor, Afghanistan and certainly Iraq means hardship and sacrifice, but the causes are just. While it is obvious that some government leaders do not acknowledge the real cost of operations, we must recognize that they cannot unless they wish to commit political suicide.

Domestic constituencies are fickle and tragically their judgments are based on erroneous media hype – the ‘a bomb has gone off in Baghdad, obviously the Coalition is loosing.’ What is good for a media outlet rarely coincides with the truth – those awfully boring, mundane facts such as new schools being built, agricultural initiatives, public utilities for all Iraqis. Oh and did I miss that the new government of Iraq represents all the facets of ethnic and religious components of Iraq. Overseas deployments, particularly when including massive reconstruction programs, are incredibly expensive and need long-term commitments. I can remember one visit to Sadr City in Baghdad where I met a real hero – an Iraqi who was rebuilding his 23rd school after years of neglect by Saddam. His partner in this most noble enterprise was murdered by the enemy. That is, the enemy of the Iraqi nation, not just us.

War is noble and nasty – and hard. In the case of Iraq, who can dare argue against removing an evil dictator? It was never going to be easily despite what some suggested. To depart now would be to fail the Iraq people and the memory of all of those young men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice from our nations.

I support the ideals of the UN – an international body to be responsible for international peace and security. As it has generally (and sadly) displayed incompetence at that, we should be relieved that other countries step up to the challenge. The history of the UN is replete with examples of failure and cowardice. How can anyone who values their own human rights denigrate those who are willing to take a stand to protect such rights? The deaths of millions in Cambodia, Rwanda, Somalia, Former Yugoslavia and other locations should loom large for any that suggest that the US and her allies have no right to intervene in another country. Notice that the last sentence didn’t include Kosovo – it might have if the US, UK and others had not acted out of principle as opposed to the strictures of a bankrupt international body. Oops sorry- we meant the UN is dealing with Saddam so lets not get rid of him. He didn’t really mean to gas all of those Kurdish people. And the Shi’as were never persecuted either. And all those poor Iraqis are not getting any food or medicine because of UN sanctions, but isn’t that a nice marble palace you are building Saddam. How fantastic that you only have thirty of them. At least you won’t have to now see all the raw sewerage that flows freely through the streets of Baghdad.

The anti-war pundits in the US, and certainly in Australia, forget that by not supporting the Coalition, they lend de facto support to the enemy. This is not some noble hero fighting against an evil empire, Luke Skywalker style. This is an enemy that is happy to kill Shi’a schoolchildren in Basra, kill unemployed Iraqis looking for jobs in the Iraqi Police, destroy income sources for the nation and plunge Iraq into some sick jihaddist fantasy where human rights don’t rate a mention. Do we need another reason to stay the course?