Re: Do you think the U.S. military should do more to prevent

As far as lawlessness goes, yes we need to prevent it. In the words of former Colombian Senator Pablo Victoria, "A Country cannot lack justice, and survive" This definitely sums it up, if you cant install order, chaos will ensue. As far as lotting goes, I would let it continue to some extent, mainly because if the US looks like its cracking down to much, public opinion may fall.

Re: Do you think the U.S. military should do more to prevent Those troops in Iraq are doing every possible thing they can do to slow down or stop lawlessness and looting...and I do not accept this myth being spread around that our people intentionally failed to protect the museums and libraries either. It does not surprise me that, if true, our people went to protect the Oil Ministry etc first...because without an economy there can be no museums or libraries in the first place. Not only that, at the very first opportunity they possibly had, our people did get a protective barrier at the museums. One day the real story of what happened in Iraq's cultural institutions will finally be told, and my guess is that it was a criminal inside job that nobody, NOBODY, could have prevented. Who knows though, almost none of us were there on the ground when any of that went down, and are in no position to judge. Those troops set the security priorities as best they could in the face of withering fire and death at every turn; and they still are.

I do not begrudge the Iraqi people their looting, actually. It seems to be a form of "street justice", following a few decades of their wealth being plundered by their government (AND by those businesses who catered to that horrid criminal dictatorship)...perhaps a strong reminder to other governments throughout the world who squander the assets of their people unwisely or wantonly? In any case, there does not seem to be much, if any, looting these days anyway.

As for lawlessness, what can anyone expect! Iraq has no constitution, no civil code, no courts and very few police. All the legal systems that were in place are now either destroyed completely or else limping along while Iraqi people struggle with whatever it is that American leadership wants them to create for their new "democratic" self-government. So, things are bound to be considerably lawless in Iraq for quite awhile into the future...and maybe even after a constitution and elections are in place (whether or not outsiders are able to control the outcome!).

One way to ensure continued lawlessness would be for those who imagine they are, and deserve the right to be, in control of the situation to impose a federalist republic in Iraq modelled after ours if what those people need or want is something more to their liking. Who cares if it becomes religion-based! Isn't American government endlessly proclaimed as being fundamentally a nation "Under God"! Gosh, I sure would hate to see Iraq have an Electoral College, imminent domain laws, sovereign immunity, closed primaries and the like, such as we have. Would any of our troops want to see the new Iraqi constitution have a guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms? It would really be nice, for once, to "let" Iraq have a direct democracy of their own design and making, with all the complexities that method has, than to presume or impose our own very faulty system upon anyone else. If left alone, one can be fairly sure that this is what they will come up with, and that given time the rough spots would smooth out. We need to keep our nose out of their political business, and use our troops solely for the purpose of filling in on security measures until a fresh start can be built over there. Nothing else...

The Iraqi people are an ancient nation whose arbitrary borders were imposed upon them by an voracious colonialist power almost a hundred years ago. They have every right today, if allowed exercise of their hard-won new freedom of choice, to form any kind of government THEY wish to have...one which includes equal representation of Kurds, Sunni and Shi'ite as well as secular unaffiliated groups. In that way lawlessness will end, but only in that way. If no other lesson can be learned from history, it should be obvious that excessive manipulation of sovereign peoples does not lead to peace.


Bluehawk