The Enemy Is Not Us...

1 - Real people, whatever their culture, have a choice between right and wrong. The soldiers at Abu Ghraib chose to do wrong. They may have found it easy, but you can't tell me they really bothered to figure whether it was right. You might find it easy too, but only you know in your heart whether you would care enough to observe the difference between right and wrong, were you in their shoes. There are those who care - and they are the ones who do what's right, even when it isn't easy. The rest are merely the elemental substance of evil. These torturers might have been any one of us - but there is no reason why it must have been any of us. We are all capable of doing better than that, whether we would choose so or not.

2 - Nevertheless, America should be ashamed. The American people should be ashamed. As a nation, we stand for what is right. And these soldiers at Abu Ghraib have done wrong in our name. We don't identify with what they did, and we don't condone it. But it disgraces us just the same. Our name has been sullied, and it is the name we wear with pride. By all means, let the perpetrators of these misdeeds be punished as thoroughly as the law provides and as thoroughly as justice demands. Please, let us make it clear that we know the difference between right and wrong, and we stand firmly upon the side of right. But let us not cower as a nation and beg for absolution. Our name is disgraced, and it is our duty to repair it. This is done through deeds, not excuses.

3 - We came to Iraq to destroy weapons that did not exist. We stayed to build an Iraq worthy of our highest ideals. The first cause was righteous, though misguided. The second aim was laudable, though we have not achieved it. But now, in our actions, we have profaned our own intentions. George W. Bush asserted just a few days ago that "there are no longer torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq." Were this true, it would speak well of our invasion - not just our intentions, but the actual invasion itself. But in case of fact, there are still torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq. Is there still a difference between the United States and Saddam Hussein? Of course, yes. Unfortunately, it is now quantitative where once it was qualitative. The difference between us today and Saddam Hussein two years ago is one of degree rather than of kind. As such, we have no more moral credibility to bring to bear with Iraq.

4 - So, I don't know where that leaves us. Three weeks ago, I was dismayed that the President appeared far too willing to pull out of Iraq far too soon. I can't pretend to understand the fixation with a transfer of sovereignty on time when there is no entity yet devised to receive that transfer. As a philosophical question it might be profound, but in a world of real chickens, eggs always come first. Leaving aside the dilemmas of yesterweek to consider the newest revelation, I find I cannot see a way for America to remain in Iraq and effect any particular moral purpose. We've disgraced ourselves, and thus it is too late to ennoble others. If the people of Iraq are to be oppressed regardless of what we do, better at least for us if it is at the hands of someone other than ourselves.

This is where I have to get speculative (i.e., speculate about what is right and what is wrong). I don't think we could just whip out of town overnight, even if we commit to an immediate withdrawal. It's just gotta take some minimum amount of time. So, while we're on the way out, it seems only proper to figure out what's the best-case last-shot scenario to leave behind. So, here's some tentative thoughts on it. If you can think of something better, please let me know... 'Cuz is the best I've got so far....

5 -It seems the most just thing we can do is give each group as fair a shot as it can take for itself. If the Kurds can stand on their own, we should grant them independent sovereignty, and offer them a territorial guarantee in exchange for a pledge of respect for human rights. If the south of Iraq is descending into theocratism, anarchy, totalitarianism, civil war, or whatever else - despite our wishes and efforts - then we can at least unfetter the healthiest portion before the rest plunges. If we can use ration cards to conduct local elections in Shiite regions that are stable, let us do so. We might at least leave behind self-interested local institutions with democratic legitimacy. In so doing, we'd create a chance that our ideals might prevail, because we'll have given someone an incentive to fight our enemies on their behalf. In short, with a pull-out, stop thinking globally. Let Kurdistan go independent. Let villages or towns in decent shape elect town councils vested with the authority to create town militias. Withdraw, and hope such councils will deal with the insurgent militia on their own and for themselves. But for us... if we cannot do what we intend, then let us pause for a moment as a nation and democratically deterimine what we can in fact do in the furtherance of our best intentions.