EvanL
04-02-2004, 05:36 PM
The Edmonton Journal
April 2, 2004
Scenes of joy in Fallujah at the killing of American civilians shows power of mob rule
CREDIT: The Associated Press
ADVERTISEMENT
Can there be anything more horrifying than a picture of burned and mutilated bodies hanging in full public view from the superstructure of a bridge?
Yes, it turns out.
Just look at the shot of that celebrating mob in Iraq yesterday after the lynching of four Americians. Look, in particular, at the joy on the face of a young boy in the crowd -- the sort of innocent face, accompanied by triumphantly raised fist, that you'd expect to see after a goal by the local Under-14 soccer team.
How can it be that the cruel death of a foreign stranger evokes such a response in such an ordinary-looking child in Fallujah, Iraq -- even if he has been imbibing the religious lunacy of dead Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin as many of the mob apparently did?
In this part of the world, the sight of an incinerated corpse would turn the stomachs of all but the worse psychopaths -- even if the murder victims were our worst, most hated personal enemies.
A few of us, if we experienced one of the last century's wars, or are survivors of horrors like the Rwandan genocide, understand that part of the explanation is the psychology of the mob.
But that just opens questions about circumstances that would allow such a mob to come into being.
This morning, inevitably, comparisons are being made with the U.S. armed forces' experience in Somalia, in which soldiers' bodies were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.
The inherent question is whether a few more Iraqi mobs could galvanize the American public into another hasty retreat.
Also inevitably, a tentative look for explanatory facts and history has already begun. Fallujah is a pious Muslim community in an area that did well under Saddam Hussein. When the city fell a year ago, 18 demonstrators were killed by American troops. During the Gulf War in 1991, an accidental bombing of the local market by British aircraft left 200 dead and many more wounded.
Some readers of The Journal may make a connection with a feature article that appeared in Sunday Reader March 14, which described the lawlessness in towns that foreign convoys drive through, the necessity of barging to the head of gasoline lineups with guns, and how such behaviour -- while essential to avoid precisely the fate of the four Americans yesterday -- "effectively neutered their dads" in the eyes of children waiting with their families for their turn at the gas pump.
But -- of course -- none of this begins to justify barbarism, much less offers much of a guide to how Americans and the rest of the international community ought to respond.
The question is not what should have been done in the past to reduce the likelihood such a mob would form, and to make sure troops or police were available and willing to prevent such atrocities. Rather, it is what must be done now to create less lethal circumstances for Iraqis and foreign nationals alike.
Turning tail and abandoning Iraq obviously won't reduce the mob's power; on the contrary, in the short term that is only likely to enhance it.
Besides, we must consider the morality of leaving the rest of the citizens of Fallujah, and Iraq, at the mercy of such forces. After all, recent reputable polls suggested most Iraqis like their current situation over the pre-war past.
Research by Oxford Research International found 70 per cent of Iraqis think their lives are going well, and 57 per cent say things have improved since the war, compared with only 19 per cent who say they are worse.
Crucially however, "regaining public security" was by far the biggest worry, listed as the top concern by 64 per cent.
Clearly, ordinary Iraqis need to see more evidence that foreigners are part of the solution to improving lives -- and less evidence to help religious demagogues convince impressionable young people they are the root of all problems.
The world, including Canada, our powerful, rich European allies, and the rest of the Arab world must spend more time, money and energy on good ideas for the future of Iraq. And less time scoring political points arguing about mistakes of the past.
© The Edmonton Journal 2004
April 2, 2004
Scenes of joy in Fallujah at the killing of American civilians shows power of mob rule
CREDIT: The Associated Press
ADVERTISEMENT
Can there be anything more horrifying than a picture of burned and mutilated bodies hanging in full public view from the superstructure of a bridge?
Yes, it turns out.
Just look at the shot of that celebrating mob in Iraq yesterday after the lynching of four Americians. Look, in particular, at the joy on the face of a young boy in the crowd -- the sort of innocent face, accompanied by triumphantly raised fist, that you'd expect to see after a goal by the local Under-14 soccer team.
How can it be that the cruel death of a foreign stranger evokes such a response in such an ordinary-looking child in Fallujah, Iraq -- even if he has been imbibing the religious lunacy of dead Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin as many of the mob apparently did?
In this part of the world, the sight of an incinerated corpse would turn the stomachs of all but the worse psychopaths -- even if the murder victims were our worst, most hated personal enemies.
A few of us, if we experienced one of the last century's wars, or are survivors of horrors like the Rwandan genocide, understand that part of the explanation is the psychology of the mob.
But that just opens questions about circumstances that would allow such a mob to come into being.
This morning, inevitably, comparisons are being made with the U.S. armed forces' experience in Somalia, in which soldiers' bodies were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.
The inherent question is whether a few more Iraqi mobs could galvanize the American public into another hasty retreat.
Also inevitably, a tentative look for explanatory facts and history has already begun. Fallujah is a pious Muslim community in an area that did well under Saddam Hussein. When the city fell a year ago, 18 demonstrators were killed by American troops. During the Gulf War in 1991, an accidental bombing of the local market by British aircraft left 200 dead and many more wounded.
Some readers of The Journal may make a connection with a feature article that appeared in Sunday Reader March 14, which described the lawlessness in towns that foreign convoys drive through, the necessity of barging to the head of gasoline lineups with guns, and how such behaviour -- while essential to avoid precisely the fate of the four Americans yesterday -- "effectively neutered their dads" in the eyes of children waiting with their families for their turn at the gas pump.
But -- of course -- none of this begins to justify barbarism, much less offers much of a guide to how Americans and the rest of the international community ought to respond.
The question is not what should have been done in the past to reduce the likelihood such a mob would form, and to make sure troops or police were available and willing to prevent such atrocities. Rather, it is what must be done now to create less lethal circumstances for Iraqis and foreign nationals alike.
Turning tail and abandoning Iraq obviously won't reduce the mob's power; on the contrary, in the short term that is only likely to enhance it.
Besides, we must consider the morality of leaving the rest of the citizens of Fallujah, and Iraq, at the mercy of such forces. After all, recent reputable polls suggested most Iraqis like their current situation over the pre-war past.
Research by Oxford Research International found 70 per cent of Iraqis think their lives are going well, and 57 per cent say things have improved since the war, compared with only 19 per cent who say they are worse.
Crucially however, "regaining public security" was by far the biggest worry, listed as the top concern by 64 per cent.
Clearly, ordinary Iraqis need to see more evidence that foreigners are part of the solution to improving lives -- and less evidence to help religious demagogues convince impressionable young people they are the root of all problems.
The world, including Canada, our powerful, rich European allies, and the rest of the Arab world must spend more time, money and energy on good ideas for the future of Iraq. And less time scoring political points arguing about mistakes of the past.
© The Edmonton Journal 2004