Martyrs

            Martyrs provide a useful service. As a recruiting company commander, I knew that any perceived attack on the United States, especially one that caused casualties, would generate an uptick in enlistments. “Remember the Alamo, Remember Pearl Harbor, the Twin Towers,” and other such jargony cultural icons stoke the fires of patriotism, reminding us of shared loss and pain. Every culture shares this penchant. Those in power often utilize martyrs to provide a steady stream of recruits. When in Iraq, we watched as the “Banner-Wars” unfolded.

            Families of those slain by a bombing would hang a large banner proclaiming their loss in a prominent spot, often on a compound wall facing a public thoroughfare. These public displays of grief and loss would blossom like grim flowers in neighborhoods after an IED or suicide bomber struck. Their stark black and white, flapping in the hot wind, served as a constant reminder of a family’s loss to a seemingly endless conflict, and an encouragement for retaliation and revenge.

            When we succumb to the desire for revenge or retaliation, even when it seems justified by bad actions on the part of the person targeted, we also increase the numbers of young men willing to throw themselves into the cauldron of conflict. In his death, General Soleimani will continue to serve as a recruiting poster for violent actions against a long-time foe. Hundreds will line up to serve the cause he espoused. He will not be seen as a violent man who trafficked in continual death; instead, he will be thought of as a noble victim, slain in defense of a righteous cause. And in this, we make a grave miscalculation.

            We incorrectly assume that killing a man such as Soleimani will deter future aggression. That is not how we as humans think. Imagine our collective outrage should an enemy successfully target a prominent public figure, be they military or civilian. This tit for tat style of diplomacy will only prolong a seemingly intractable conflict, serving to deepen the chasm that separates our peoples. The killing of such a public figure will not deter further violence. The lengthy nature of this asymmetrical conflict has provided battalions of well-trained, battle-hardened men ready to step into the breach and continue the fight. We should take no comfort in the relatively mild scope of Iranian retaliation. They simply afforded us an opportunity to avoid a rapid escalation into greater violence and death. They gave us a bit of space to reconsider our options for future actions.

            We must give careful thought to what we want as an end-state in Iran and Iraq. We launched this conflict with no thought to what our goals were. I participated, in a small way, in the planning and execution of the invasion and at that time there was no plan, written or stated, that addressed what we would do after the invasion. At that time, our civilian leadership was chary concerning nation-building. Ostensibly we invaded in order to force out Saddam Hussein and deny Iraq weapons of mass destruction. As a soldier in 2003, I saw first hand the depravity with which Saddam treated his people and the remnants of his attempts to obtain WMD. But that does not relieve us of the responsibility to secure some sort of stable relationship with the Iraqis and begin building bridges with Iran.

            I hope and pray that we will not settle for some sort of continual long-distance low-level warfare with Iran. We must find other ways to interact with this country. It took decades to sort out ways to interact with the Soviet Union, but we did so, and they posed a truly existential threat to our nation. We must develop creative diplomatic tools and find areas of common interest. Surely we’ve spilt enough blood to satisfy the fires that raged after 9/11. Now we ought to turn our hands to binding up wounds, feeding the hungry, and educating the ignorant. The road back from entrenched hated may be long and filled with many fitful starts and stops, but it is one that must be traveled. Let us start that arduous journey sooner than later.

A Weary Foreboding

            I have watched recent events unfold with a weary foreboding. I pray that our leaders will step back from the dark abyss into which we seem to be hurtling. Expanding hostilities with Iran serves no useful purpose. When did we as a nation abandon the careful and thoughtful approach to international relations so carefully crafted during the dark days of the Cold War? History shows that long-term diplomacy works. We talked our way out of conflict with the Soviet Union. Eventually, words, backed up by serious military readiness and a thriving economy, prevailed. What has convinced us that armed conflict with a nation, weakened by decades of ever-tightening sanctions, will serve our national purposes?

            As a veteran of multiple tours in Iraq, I do not see a positive outcome of expanding our conflict. To be sure, Iran poses no existential threat to our nation. We can crush any armed force they can muster. Our military, hardened by almost two decades of continual warfare, will crush any organized opposition with dispatch. But that will not end the carnage. They will simply turn to and employ unconventional tactics and the blood will continue to spill into the ever-thirsty sand. Our experience in Afghanistan and Iraq has taught us the extreme difficulty of subduing a people willing to engage in continual asymmetric warfare. What little international respect we retain will evaporate as we pursue a failed policy with no real end in sight.  Why are we so ready to add to the death and destruction that already plagues the region?

            I urge those who think this enlargement of conflict to volunteer to strap on their kit and join those in harm's way. If you are too old or unfit, consider dispatching your children or grandchildren into the cauldron of hate and violence we’ve helped create. Or, if you are unwilling to take those steps, consider visiting one of the VA or military hospitals serving wounded service members. If viewing the physically maimed turns your stomach, perhaps you can sit with a veteran suffering from PTSD, or volunteer in a refugee camp, helping displaced civilians. Take these steps before you so quickly send others into harm's way.

            There are times in which a nation must resort to engaging in armed conflict. But is this really one of them? What do the Iranians possess that we need? Will an increase in the death toll bring an end to international terrorism? What is the end-state of this conflict? Have we become so calloused to the suffering and privations of war as to accept the current state of things as normal?

            We must work harder to solve these seemingly intractable problems. This cannot be acceptable simply because it takes place halfway around the globe in someone else’s neighborhood. Their suffering is real. I have seen them mourn their lost children. Before we stagger down this path, let us pause, consider, and seek other options. It took almost fifty years, be we managed to end the Cold War without coming to blows through the hard work of well-considered and artfully executed diplomacy. I’m old enough to remember how hard we worked that particular issue. Perhaps it is time to reinvigorate those skills and step back from the dark abyss.