Plumbers and Firemen

When violence is necessary it is a standard tactic to use overwhelming force. Police swat teams and military planners always hope to have more resources than they would ever need to use in the field. Extra firepower and manpower keep their people safe and limit the amount of violent response that may come from an adversary. This idea was put to full effect at the beginning of the Iraq war. Fast moving, well-armed soldiers stormed through Iraq defenses with “shock and awe” on their side. Within two months the government of Saddam Hussein was broken and removed from the equation of Iraq’s future. Whether we agree that the war was prudent politically or diplomatically, it was a skillful use of our overwhelming military might.
The military did the job they were asked to do. They removed Saddam from power. Now they are being asked to police and secure the streets of the cities and towns in a country that is tearing itself apart. Has this use of a military occupation ever been an effective way of keeping the peace? Asking our soldiers to be policemen of a foreign country is similar to asking plumbers to be firemen. Plumbers work with water the same as firemen do, but to assume they have the same skills and abilities is to disrespect both professions.
The arts of war can defend borders, overthrow governments or enforce a political point of view. What war can’t do for us is make people want to live in peace. Now our warriors, the bravest amongst us, are being asked to do just that. They patrol the streets and stand between a population not looking for liberation or defense from outside forces. Iraqis are struggling with a sense of national identity. They yearn for security, justice and far too often revenge. The question at hand is whether the U.S. military is equipped to give any of these things to them?
Now the administration is proposing sending 30,000 more soldiers to the deserts of Iraq. Will this bring Sunnis and Sheites together? Are these soldiers going to give the new Iraqi government the will to stand up to the warring factions? Do they have a military objective in the same way that we had when Saddam was in power? It is my fear that the our soldiers that are there and those that might soon be sent, will be little more than additional targets for a society of people filled with the pain and anger that comes with the suffering of war. Our soldiers deserve better goals and clearer objectives for their service. Our soldiers deserve more from the person they call Commander and Chief. The truth is other more rational plans have already been proposed and presented. The willful disregard of the administration for the welfare of our troops and the realities of the situation they face troubles me deeply. Until the President is ready to give up his unrealistic expectations of the use of force our soldiers will remain plumbers trying to put out a raging fire.