A reason to remain Bombs have ripped through the reality of soldiers and aid workers in Iraq, removing many lives. The tragedy is obvious. It is an enormous price to pay, costing, for some, not less than everything. Instant global news drives home the shattering impact of terror, feeding the very thing that terrorists wish to feed: the appetite for fear. Confronting fear -- our own fear -- of the cost of rebuilding Iraq, presses upon us the question: what price? Americans are not a cowardly people and are not apt to turn and run from the scene of danger, but Americans do experience life at an accelerated rate. Americans expect things to get fixed. Americans usually do fix them, but Americans like to do so quickly. Iraq does not present an opportunity for a speedy solution. The Marshall Plan took some time. Iraq will take at least as long. We are only two years out from September 11, 2001. And the violence that was visited on Americans (and others) then in the U.S., is now visited on Americans (and others) in lands Islamic. This is an improvement only so far as the U.S. has chosen the place of battle. The fear remains. Iraq is troubled with security problems, but there is no possibility of disorganized terrorists removing U.S. and Coalition forces. The attacks do not represent a military threat. There is no attempt to capture territory, no attempt to destroy major Coalition assets, no attempt to gain control of key resources like water and oil. There is not even an attempt to disrupt Coalition logistics. Iraq is not beset with a military problem. The issue is less what happens in Iraq and more what happens in the U.S. Will the resolve of the American people fail? It will, if the view that America does not have something special to offer the world prevails. Resolve will fail if the view that the U.S. is not a unique creation prevails. If Americans themselves begin to believe America to be just like any other country and no better, then there is little reason for America to persist in Iraq. Indeed, if America is just like any other country, there is little reason for America to continue to exist at all. James Clark   ============================================================== (c) 2003 Millennium Relief & Development Services, vol. 3 no. 15 'Insight' is a publication of MRDS to interpret current events in light of the experience of members of our international network. 'Insight' archives and other information can be found on our website. 'Insight' may be freely copied with this citation. If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, simply reply and request to be removed. Millennium RDS, 5116 Bissonnet #358, Bellaire, TX 77401-4007 Tel: (713)961-5645 Fax: (713)961-5735 www.mrds.org insight@mrds.org.