Who’s Fighting and What For?
You may recall this now legendary question asked by Mick Jagger in the movie Gimme Shelter, a documentary of the Rolling Stones in concert at Altamont Speedway on December 6, 1969. The event turned violent when The Hell’s Angels decided they were in charge, and under their guidance and protection 850 people were injured and an 18-year-old boy beaten and stabbed to death in the front row, while the Stones played.
That question – ”Who’s fighting and what for?” – was brought to mind when George Bush, in his State of the Union address, said of Iraq: “Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk.”
Friends? In Iraq? Who exactly are our friends in Iraq? Certainly not the terrorists or “thugs” we’ve let in and now made our prime reason for being there. How about the Shiites? Are they our friends? I don’t know. Even the Shiite-led government is becoming more hostile to our interventions, and defiant of our wishes. Not what you would consider friendly. Maybe to Iran they’re friends, but…
What about the Sunnis? Do they consider us their friends? Given that we disbanded their army, refused to involve them in the reconstruction, effectively shut them out of the governmental process, all stoking the anger that fueled their growing insurgency, I don’t think so.
In truth, according to a September study by the Program on International Policy Attitudes, 71% of Iraquis say they would like the Iraqi government to ask for US-led forces to be withdrawn. Even though their country is being ripped apart by uncontrollable brutality. With friends like these…
The point is, The US really has no friends in Iraq, to abandon or otherwise. Which brings us to that larger question: Who’s fighting and what for? Iraq is reminiscent of those classic Western barroom brawl scenes, where, after the initial punch, everyone starts fighting everyone else indiscriminately, breaking chairs and bottles over one another’s heads. Only, in this case it’s not funny, an orgy of violence in which the US military is tragically caught in the middle, not quite sure how to break it up. If only they could.
More questions nag. Every day I hear or read about people being blown up in Iraq, including Americans, by car bombs, IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and suicide bombers. But the reporting rarely goes beyond that. Does anyone ever investigate these crimes? Are suspects brought in for questioning? Are the perpetrators ever brought to justice? Or is it all just written off as “war will be war”?
There’s a lot not to understand about Iraq. What disturbs most is that people can be made to live in harmony, albeit fearfully, in the grip of a dictatorship, but can’t exist without destroying themselves in a so-called democracy.
It doesn’t seem things are going to get much better soon, until we can answer that perplexing question Mick Jagger so desperately posed at Altamont, just a few months after Woodstock but a world removed from it: “Who’s fighting and what for?”
Entries
Very insightful– the truth is, who is it that we’re fighting, and what is it really for? There are so many uncertanties in today’s world, and this blog really gave me something to think about.
Comment by Kate | January 25, 2007
Good question, well asked. The situation in Iraq seems to be getting worse every day, and the more we learn about it, the more questions are raised.
I look forward to future entries - the title you’ve chosen for your blog is intriguing!
Comment by Jennifer Cole | January 26, 2007
How sad that so many have died in loving support of their country, but for what reason? To fight for your friends is honorable. Possibly dying in the fight is the price one might pay to support that friend. But deceiving those fighters into believing they are fighting for a friend when it is not true, is dishonorable beyond belief.
Comment by Richard Cole | January 26, 2007
I believe we are fighting for human descency, for girls to attend school and be a viable person in society instead of the THIRD class citizen they were treated as under Sadam. Don’t the IRAQI citizens deserve a friend? Look at the pictures of compassion MOST of our military are showing the Iraqi people. Don’t the Iraqi’s deserve us as friends? With all the hatred, oppression and fear they lived with, friendship is the least we could offer them.
Comment by Sandra Olmsted | January 28, 2007
If the people as a whole wanted to be led to a new way of doing things, well, good for us. I’m not sure they want us as friends. Are we so friendly in armoured personnel carriers to keep us from being blown up. How much pressure do we bring to bear to force a change in the position women hold. Can we dictate what kind of friendship they need and how we are going to display friendship. I think they deserve what they want. I think they deserve the things we hold as dear, but NOT to be forced to take it. That’s why I speak if the dishoner of being told we are fghting for a friend when it’s not true. I don’t think I can speak of ‘we’ (the country) in anything but the loosest terms. Too many opinions and motivations. What I can do is add my support (a drop in the bucket), withhold my support (another drop in the bucket), support the other position, or suggest a new position. I can try to convince others of how right I am, an be prepared to listen to others try to convince me of the same thing. I think these are the things I can do to fight for what I believe. And don’t try to get others to die in the false belief they are helping unless they really are.
Comment by Richard Cole | February 1, 2007