Mullings: An American Cyber-column By Rich Galen

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No More Honorable Place

Wednesday July 9, 2003

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The Western press is presenting an image of the United States' occupation of Iraq as a failure - or at least a failure-in-waiting - largely because of the attacks on soldiers.

Saddam Hussein, who is an accomplished manipulator of the media, knows that however horrible it might be to kill a coalition soldier, it only makes good television footage if the murder is accompanied by destroying a vehicle in the process. Hence, the footage of the burning remains of blown-up equipment.

During my trip to Kuwait we had an opportunity to visit Camp Doha on July Fourth. For a description of our trip to Camp Doha, see today's Travelogue - "It's Africa Hot."

One of the people on the trip was an excellent young reporter for The Hill newspaper, Alex Bolton who, while I was in the PX buying tee shirts, was doing actual reporting.

He spoke to two soldiers, both of whom had cycled out of Baghdad only a few weeks earlier. One, a Captain in charge of an Intelligence Company in the Third Infantry Division and another, a helicopter pilot who flew close air support during the taking of Baghdad and beyond.

While they are not indifferent to the casualties being suffered by coalition forces, one said it was like "walking in downtown Chicago at night." It was wise "to be cautious," but you didn't necessarily "need to be afraid."

He had worked hand-in-glove with Iraqis on the ground to find out what was going on. He said he had found the "vast majority" of Iraqis were "very happy we were there" and tried to be as helpful as possible.

The pilot said for the most part the people with whom he had come into contact were "extremely friendly, and reminded us that the "power is on, people are conducting business in the markets; it's not the smoking ruins that you think."

Later, we met with a number of high-ranking Iraqi officials - present and former - all of whom had the same advice for President Bush: Stay the Course.

A former Kuwaiti Oil Minister told us that Americans are too eager for quick solutions. Sometimes, he said, things just take their own time. He said America should be prepared to have a presence in Iraq for 10 years or more. We, after all, are still protecting Europe with NATO from a Soviet Union which no longer exists, nearly 15 years after the Berlin Wall came down.

He and another official talked about the additional benefits of a continued US presence in Iraq.

The Minister pointed out that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was moving forward because we had removed Iraq from a position of influence and funding for the Palestinian terrorists.

Another senior Kuwaiti official said that the US is everyone's second choice to be in the region: Syria wants Syrians, Iran wants Iranians, Saudis want Saudis, Egypt wants Egyptians, and so on. The US, he said, "is a necessary evil," and were we to leave, the nations surrounding Iraq would instantly rush in to take a piece of the country.

"You are not just rebuilding Iraq," he said, "you are keeping everyone else apart."

Remember the dire predictions to which we were treated prior to the invasion of Iraq - the humanitarian disasters in terms of lack of food and water; the refugee crisis (into and out from Iraq); and the calculations by retired military experts and others that coalition casualties might exceed 1,000 during the war.

We don't see anyone comparing those pre-war predictions with the post-war realities.

Finally, as we were leaving Camp Doha the Public Affairs officer who escorted us - a Captain with a Ranger badge on his shoulder and a Airborne badge on his chest - said this about our efforts in the Middle East:

"This might not be the most comfortable place for American troops to be on the Fourth of July; but there's no place more honorable."

If you feel yourself doubting our efforts in the region, repeat that to yourself.

On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: Chapter 3 of the Travelogue - "Kuwait Here. I'll Be Right Back;" a pretty good Mullfoto; and the usual things.

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