Justus For All

This reporting by Michael Yon is certainly well worth reading in full.  It is the story of the arrest of an Iraqi hero who had fallen into corruption.  I imagine many will view this as a resounding success, others will point to it as evidence that our hopes in Iraq are futile and that we have no hope of winning.

I tend to believe that simple naratives don’t explain complex situations well at all.  Iraq is, and will remain, a difficult place as it tries to transition to democracy.  New ‘rules’ have to be learned, and even more importantly believed in by the Iraqi people before that can happen.  Obviously, this General, heroic though his contribution had been in some areas, hadn’t grasped the rules that make a democracy possible.

I think overall the story is positive, and shows that our soldiers can make a difference and we can help change the culture in Iraq from a tibalist might makes right viewpoint to true rule of law.  It certainly does show though that this isn’t going to be a quick or an easy process.  Some of it we can (and I believe should) help with, some of it will be things only the Iraqis can do for themselves.   Making it more difficult, the line between those two things isn’t always very easy to determine, and of course most of it is stuff that the have to do for themselves but will be easier for them to do with help.