Reply #13: I do see the difference

[Psephos]

And I appreciate your point of view, as well as your service.

I meant the "blood-crazed" phrase ironically. I come from a military family myself.

I worked hard to see we steered clear of war, but it was not to be. Now we must deal with things as they are, not as they should be.

This war will now be decided by images and perceptions, more than bullets. My view is that the current situation in Iraq is more complex than politicos of either the right or the left portray, and that the most strident voices on both sides are driven less by actual concern for Iraqis or American soldiers than for scoring points against political opponents. The strength of political hatred in this country is creating entire cadres of feuding Hatfields and McCoys. Just as vicious, just as futile.

In this case, I would point out that many of the people shooting at American soldiers right now are not Iraqis, but young idealists from other countries who feel it is their religious or political duty to take up arms and repel the (for lack of a handier phrase) infidels. More importantly, whoever these insurgents are, they do not all have the interests of Iraqi people at heart. We know this because they have killed an awful lot of Iraqi civilians without batting an eye.

My back-of-the-envelope analysis is that the most militant of the insurgents are driven far less by nationalistic outrage than by fundamentalist Islam visions of a theocracy, or at minimum, a sense of brotherhood within Islam and a shared hatred of Westerners. Xenophobia is deeply ingrained in human DNA, and religious fervor seems especially potent in unleashing it. In contrast, I believe these young men's native leaders are driven by a realization that it is now or never for Baathists and their allies. These realists have made common cause with the "imported" leaders such as al-Zarqawi, for whom Iraq is clearly a must-hold. It was bin Laden himself who observed that the people prefer a strong horse over a weak horse. Millions in the Muslim world now look at this conflict as a test for Al Qaeda and similar organizations, to see whether they merit further support.

Power lust is at the heart of nearly all wars. There's more than enough on both sides here to ensure much more bloodshed. A sad mess, and one that could have been prevented.

Peace.