RE: "Iraq is Lost"

In a startling act of pure Hagelism, conservative icon William F. Buckley elementarily labeled the American project in Iraq a failure. "Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable. The great human reserves that call for civil life haven’t proved strong enough."

Problematic for Mr. Buckley’s assertion is the shallow foundation he lays in supporting it. He cites a man-on-the-street interview of a Sunni merchant published in The New York Times, warranting the obvious response: would you expect the average Sunni to say anything else, given the perch of power America knocked them from in deposing Saddam Hussein? Army Lieutenant Colonel John M. Kanaley, currently stationed in Iraq, opined that the "same interviewing technique would have produced the same result from Berlin in 1945."

Mr. Buckley’s evidentiary support grows only more questionable. Supposedly the anti-American denunciations of Iran’s fanatical and deeply belligerent president further elucidate America’s failure to pacify sectarian hostilities in Iraq. In fact, they elucidate nothing. Democracy in Iraq threatens the theocracy in Iran, and it is no secret that Iran has been actively engaged in subverting Iraqi democracy. That the president of Iran would be condemning America’s mission there should be of little surprise. Further, the statements of a man who has denied the Holocaust ever occurred and who expresses a desire to wipe Israel off the map should not be relied upon as a factor in determining America’s performance in Iraq. I’m surprised an esteemed intellect such as Mr. Buckley has.

Beyond his shaky support Mr. Buckley’s thesis and conclusion are questionable. His claim that Iraqi animosities are "uncontrollable" is dubious. The Samarra bombing was not the first time a Shiite shrine has been targeted by terrorists, and it won’t be the last. It has been the strategy of al Qaeda in Iraq all along to incite civil war and, though sectarian motivated attacks have produced spells of intermittent sectarian violence, civil war has not transpired, at least not yet. Iraq’s political and religious leaders have proven themselves to be remarkably restrained and patient, and the various popular demonstrations for peace in Iraqi cities and towns are indicative of a broad desire within the country to overcome violence and murder and continue on towards a viable democracy and peaceful nation.

Mr. Buckley’s mistaken assessment is not collaborated by circumstances on the ground, but instead reflects the perception of Iraq the mainstream media has decided to cultivate. The media coverage of Iraq has employed a, in the words of Victor Davis Hanson, "if it bleeds, it leads brand of journalism", which highlights "the severed head in the street over the completion of yet another Iraqi school." America sees only an Iraq full of terrorism and sectarian strife, and the public’s mood on Iraq, as well as Mr. Buckley’s, is thus explained.

American soldiers on the ground remain optimistic as the training of Iraqi soldiers continues. As Mr. Hanson described circumstances on the ground, soon "ten divisions of Iraqi soldiers, and over 100,000 police, should be able to crush the insurgency, with the help of a public tired of violence and assured that the future of Iraq is their own".

America has not lost, and our mission in Iraq has not failed. Progress continues to be made in the country, and each day brings the Iraqis closer to the point when a viable and authentic government will emerge and Iraqi forces will be able to fully and effectively engage the enemy. Now is not the time to succumb to a defeatist mentality predicated on an incomplete perspective provided by shameless media coverage. I am surprised and saddened Mr. Buckley, a man whom I respect and admire, has done so.