There’s a lot to talk about these days. The nightmare in the Gulf has consumed a lot of real estate in my brain. So while I was catching up on the state of world and American affairs, a recent New York Times article flagged a neglected aspect in our national discourse on our withdrawal from Iraq.
The American reconstruction authorities decided, however, that the first big rebuilding project to win hearts and minds would be a citywide sewage treatment system.
Now, after more than six years of work, $104 million spent, and without having connected a single house, American reconstruction officials have decided to leave the troubled system only partly finished, infuriating many city residents.
Additionally, The Prospect’s Courtney Martin raised another valid point:
Iraqi citizens shouldn’t be the only ones infuriated by our military’s half-assed effort to rebuild a nation that we so righteously destroyed not so long ago. Americans should also be outraged. We should be fuming. This war was fought in our names, and now shoddy infrastructure and broken promises will be our legacy. We should be calling our political representatives and demanding that the U.S. military finish what it started in Iraq and implement a long-term plan for incorporating nation-building practices effectively and ethically.
Still, I can’t help but weigh some critical path items that have prevented completion of these projects. Money isn’t everything. And yes, we should be upset about all of our over leveraged assets (personnel, lives, tax dollars) engaged in an ongoing effort that many of us questioned from its inception, but is anyone that surprised? Who recalls the details of a reconstruction and rebuilding plan once regime change occurred and the nation was secure? Our overstretched military reduced troop presence in Afghanistan, while operating in a universe where they’ve had next to no civilian support. Their job? Secure the nation, defeat insurgents, protect the lives of Iraqi people and themselves, rebuild roads, build water/sewer treatment facilities, build/replace power grid, rebuild housing, train local militia, protect rising political leaders, deactivate IUDs, build checkpoints, conduct night patrols, repair and promote America’s image… During the Bush years, as we’ve all come to learn, the State Department was crippled by lack of funding and staff. That civilian force was critical in working with the Iraqis to build capacity to manage their local and national governments. And since Obama’s taken office, we’re slowly seeing a reversal of that stance, only to be stymied by Republican opposition in appointments. Whereas the Bush Administration’s tact to rebuilding Iraq was blind faith in the efficiency of the military and the holy competency of private corporations.
Reading both articles triggers a memory back in my days working in housing development with my colleagues in 2003, when we debated whether or not we should invade Iraq. While I remained skeptical about the existence of WMDs in Iraq, Saddam’s involvement in the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings, a couple of my colleagues were war hawks. In Lower Manhattan in early 2003, we all still had memories of the Towers rising, standing, and falling. The Modell’s near Broadway and John Street still had dust from the Towers on its frontage. Yeah. One colleague in particular seemed particularly convinced that we would effectively ‘liberate’ the Iraqi people. I asked him if he was prepared to rebuild a nation. He seemed puzzled by my question. I posited that the oncoming struggle to rid the world of WMDs, Saddam, and this idea of liberation will come at high costs to our generation, and that it was not unlike the work we were doing rebuilding neighborhoods around New York City. And we have an infrastructure. We have governance. We have running water. We have a waste management system. We have roads. I pressed: ‘What local government or leadership in their cities and towns can take on that responsibility in Iraq once you topple this regime? If it’s taken New York City the better part of three decades to rebuild four blocks and 60 houses on the Rockaway Peninsula, what makes you believe the US military will be able to liberate and leave Iraq in a year?’
Saddam was a tyrant. That fact is well documented. However, in 2003, anyone with eyes could see where we would be 7 years (and counting) later. There was no plan. How did a wall get built in Iraq? The Great Uncle deemed it so. And it was. While on the other side of paradise, the Army Corp of Engineers assured the City of New Orleans that the levees would hold in the event of a Category 3 hurricane were to make landfall.
There’s a strange symmetry in my brain about rebuilding nations and distressed communities. Moreover, the true amount of time it takes to even do so. For Iraq, and the long war in Afghanistan, we fail to comprehend the depth of practical realities US and NATO forces face in their effort to nation build while fighting the Taliban and insurgents. Everyone has an opinion on what needs to happen. But what of the how? And for those who have convinced themselves that military might alone creates civil society, I’d ask them to look at how our own municipalities move and govern our daily living. It’s not magic. It’s a committed group of citizens and specialists, buoyed by an economy built on mutual acceptance that what you put into the system comes back out in services you receive. If we wanted the potholes fixed, we call 311. Boom. Pothole fixed. Who’s answering the phone at the other end in Fallujah?
