May 11, 2004

"DO YOUR DUTY":

More Iraqis accept their US-trained forces: Security personnel in Baghdad and Fallujah report that the views of their fellow Iraqis are shifting. (Scott Peterson, 5/12/04, CS Monitor)

Accused of being collaborators with American occupation forces, Iraqi policemen, guards, and soldiers have endured ridicule, threats, and targeted violence that have left hundreds dead over the past year.

But there are signs that hard-nosed attitudes toward the country's embattled, US-trained security forces are beginning to soften.

There is no way to tell the breadth of this apparent change in popular thinking. But some dozen security personnel in Baghdad and the flash point of Fallujah report that the views of their fellow Iraqis - tired of the continual burn of insecurity, car bombs, and kidnappings - are shifting.

"It is beginning to change," says Emad Abbas Qassem, a lieutenant in the Facility Protection Service (FPS), at his post outside a central Baghdad education ministry office. "It's not only the people, but my wife, my family and brothers tell me: 'Go to work and do your duty.' They used to be so afraid."

Indeed, the number of targeted attacks and casualties against security forceshas dropped in recent weeks, relative to previous months. At least 350 Iraqi police were killed in the first year of occupation; that rate dropped dramatically to roughly a dozen killed during April. Lieutenant Qassem estimates a 50 percent drop in the past month alone. "Because we were trained by the Americans, [Iraqis] dealt with us like we were Americans," he says.


At the end of the day, no one wants their life to suck. That's the biggest advantage we have in the war on terror.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 11, 2004 10:44 PM
Comments

I wasn't aware of the drop in Iraq casualties - probably because of all the focus on Fallujah and Najif. Let's hope the casualty count drops not only for the US and Iraq soldiers/security forces but for all countries helping out.

Posted by: AWW at May 11, 2004 11:44 PM

The press portrays the fighting in Fallujah and Najaf as proof that the war has become a quagmire. More likely it is the grand finale for the Baathist insurgency. Like a fireworks display, it gets louder before the end.

Posted by: Robert Duquette at May 12, 2004 12:24 AM

They lie. Early and often, creatively and consistently, solemnly and soberly.

They have a vested interest (professional pride?) in not being caught out in their lies. So they lie more and dig deeper.

Thus they have a vested interest (professional pride?) that their lies be borne out, that the quagmire "exist," that America fail, that Iraqis suffer thousands of times more now than before.

It's really that simple.

Posted by: Barry Meislin at May 12, 2004 1:53 AM

And, frankly, they don't care about Iraqi lives. If they did, they would have reported the truth about Saddam's regime in the first place.

Posted by: David Cohen at May 12, 2004 8:53 AM

The problem with OJ's assessment is that a desire to end the lawlessness could easily translate into acceptance of an Islamic state - to give in to the terrorists and Ba'athists just as Germans welcomed the Nazi takeover of Weimar.

It is at this time it's important to look like the strong horse which will overcome, and that we will not be driven out by force.

I blame much of the problems on the wrong occupation planning by the President, but at least he has the resolution to keep fighting.

Posted by: Chris Durnell at May 12, 2004 12:00 PM

Chris:

Why would that necessarily be a bad thing? As Iran demonstrates, the shelf life of such a state is about 25 years and then comes true liberalization. That's awfully quick democratization by historic standards.

Posted by: oj at May 12, 2004 12:10 PM

But how much damage can it do to us during that 25-year shelf life?

If Allah Commands Them to launch the nukes (or spread a Satan Bug) 24 years into that 25 ("GOD'S WILL! ALLAH-U AKBAR! ALLAH-U AKBAR! ALLAH-U AKBAR!"), it's really not much comfort that they had only a year left in any case.

Posted by: Ken at May 12, 2004 12:31 PM

Ken:

As much as Iran, or hardly any to speak of.

Posted by: oj at May 12, 2004 12:54 PM

In contrast to people not wanting their lives to suck, there are many who want to make sure OTHER lives end. To win this 'war', we have to want something more than they do, even if it is as simple an impulse as retribution. That is why Sen. Inhofe's remarks yesterday have sparked some furor today: we are reminded about our lack of wanting (except for things to go away).

Posted by: jim hamlen at May 12, 2004 1:10 PM
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