The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Suppose the shoe were on the other foot. Suppose that the former United States had splintered into half a dozen fragments after the South won the Civil War 145 years ago. Suppose all the Arabs lived in a single, powerful state, but had no oil. Suppose an Arab military force was currently bringing peace and freedom to the oil-rich, violence-torn country of Texas. What would they be reading in the Arab newspapers five years after the occupation of Texas? TheyÕd be learning about the minute doctrinal differences and the irreconcilable rivalries between Catholic Hispanics and Protestant anglos, and even between Southern Methodists and Southern Baptists. TheyÕd all know about TexasÕs long love affair with guns, as if that explained why Texans were killing Arab soldiers. TheyÕd constantly be reminded that the dominant minority in east Texas is African-American, while in west Texas it is Hispanic, as if that explained anything. Writers in Arab newspapers would be speculating about which of the many Texan militias could be persuaded to side with the Arab troops in the task of pacification. Everybody in the Arab world would know far more about Texas than any sane non-Texan should ever want to know Ð without understanding anything at all. And then the Arab troops would go home sooner or later, and everybody in the Arab world would forget all those intricate details about Texas again. Well, the shoe is not on the other foot. ItÕs American troops in Iraq, not Arab troops in Texas, so itÕs the Western media that are filled with minutiae about the rivalries among Iraqi sects, parties and militias. WeÕve just had a fairly intense week of it, with the Baghdad government that is dominated by two Shia parties using the national army to attack the militia of a third Shia faction, one led by Moqtada al-Sadr. For the record, Prime Minister Nouri al-MalikiÕs attempt to shut down al-SadrÕs militia, the Mahdi army, has failed. MalikiÕs offensive against the Mahdi army in Basra stalled after four days, with three-quarters of the city still in the hands of the militia. Meanwhile heavy fighting spread to four other cities in the south and to Baghdad itself, and US ground troops were drawn into the fighting to cover the Iraqi armyÕs failures. Maliki declared himself surprised by the strength of the resistance (although nobody else was). He stopped the offensive and extended his deadline for disarming the militias by 10 days. Then, after frantic scurrying around behind the scenes, a deal emerged in which Sadr gently let him off the hook. Sadr declared that he was ordering the Mahdi army to stop fighting and get off the streets. But he coupled that with a demand that the government stop Òillegal and random raidsÓ (that target his followers) and release all detainees (including hundreds of Mahdi army members) who have been arrested without formal charges. And SadrÕs spokesman made it very clear that no weapons would be handed in. Maliki did not argue. The offensive was called off, and the Mahdi army is still intact. As MalikiÕs spokesman put it, Òthe government will...implement the law against those who do not obey the instructions of the government and of Sadr.Ó The latter comes out of this confrontation stronger than ever, having faced down Maliki (with the full weight of the United States behind him), and then winning extra points for being the peace-maker. But this saga is of no great relevance to the future of Iraq. No matter who ends up running Iraq, all the American troops will go home in the end. And whatever happens in Iraq after that, although of great importance to Iraqis, will be of little interest to Americans. Ten years from now, all that painfully acquired knowledge about the details of IraqÕs internal rivalries will be long gone from American minds. And the main conclusion of the American public about the Iraq adventure will be (as Talleyrand said about one of NapoleonÕs stupider decisions) that Òit was worse than a crime; it was a mistake.Ó
