If only we'd leave, these so-called "nationalists" would lay down their arms and run for city council. This neglects what we'd do about the Baathists and jihadis, but let's forget that right now. For me to believe that nationalism is motivating the non-Baathist Iraqis to fight, I'd have to accept that these people are fine with the new majority government but just don't like the American friends that they rely on right now to help fight and build a new democracy. Without our troops, these nationalists would work with the government.
Well, support for this thinking is hard to find as Sunni comments show:
"I came here and voted in order to prove that Sunnis are not a minority in this country," said lawyer Yahya Abdul-Jalil in Ramadi. "We lost a lot during the last elections, but this time we will take our normal and key role in leading this country."
Fallujah teacher Khalid Fawaz said he also took part "so that the Sunnis are no longer marginalized."
Many others who turned out in Fallujah, which was overrun by U.S. forces in November 2004, saw the election as a way to get rid of the Americans and the Shiite-dominated government.
"It's an extremist government. We would like an end to the occupation," said Ahmed Majid, 31. "Really the only true solution is through politics. But there is the occupation and the only way that will end is with weapons."
The "nationalist" enemy is Iraq is nothing of the sort. If they were nationalists, they'd have mostly Kurds and Shias in their ranks. Oddly enough, they seem to be all Sunnis. These Sunnis may not have liked Saddam, but they sure as heck prefer his Sunni-based rule to governance by hated Shias and Kurds.
So call these "nationalists" what they are--chauvanists: Sunni Arabs who are fighting for the nation as they alone define it.
Leaving too soon won't disable the so-called resistance. It will merely give them a fighting chance to win with guns and bombs. Staying is giving Iraqis a chance for freedom and a future.
UPDATE: I may have been hasty in thinking that the vote could not change the minds of Sunnis quickly. John Burns reports on the reaction of Sunnis in Iraq on election day:
On a day when the high voter turnout among Sunni Arabs was the main surprise, Ali and his posse of friends, unguarded as boys can be, acted like a chorus for the scene unfolding about them. A new willingness to distance themselves from the insurgency, an absence of hostility for Americans, a casual contempt for Saddam Hussein, a yearning for Sunnis to find a place for themselves in the post-Hussein Iraq - the boys' themes were their parents', too, only more boldly expressed.
Fascinating article. And it certainly shows that the so-called nationalist resistance hardly rests on pillars of loving the new Iraqi government and hating American troops that support the government they love.
The Sunnis certainly can earn a place in post-Saddam Iraq. And casual comtempt for Saddam will go a long way toward getting them there.
