Quotations from millionaire publisher/former U.S. diplomat to France may provide blueprint for nation-building after Iraqi conflict

"How few there are who have courage enough to own their Faults, or resolution enough to mend them!" ~ Ben Franklin, 1743

I admit it, I’m not always right. In the last two columns I alluded to the likelihood that the war with Iraq would go quickly. It looks like my assumption was wrong. Whether it’s because of loyalty to Saddam, fear of Saddam, or resentment of foreign intrusion, not all Iraqis appear to be appreciative of our efforts to liberate them.

In last week’s column I talked about a "sanitized" image we were receiving of the war, that made it look exciting, like a video game.

Since then it has become difficult to watch or even listen to war coverage. Now, I think we’ve been subjected to too much harsh reality. It’s certainly something I’d like to shelter my toddlers from.

As of my writing this last Friday (March 28th), we may still have not found a "smoking gun" that links Saddam Hussein’s regime to Alqueda or September 11, and we may not have uncovered stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, but we have found pretty condemning circumstantial evidence. There were the thousands of chemical weapon protective suits, why would they need those?

Then there was the mistreatment of American P.O.W.s. Not only was using them for propaganda purposes a violation of the Geneva Convention, but from all appearances, the Iraqis have executed them. If I dragged my feet about going to war, that convinced me that we have no choice now but to finish the job.

According to British military officials, Iraqi paramilitary forces in Basra, in Southern Iraq, fired mortars and machine guns Friday on thousands of civilians trying to leave that besieged city.

Surely after we’ve been there longer, providing aid and food, more Iraqis will warm up to us and realize prefer the devil they don’t know to the one they’ve known for more than two decades.

A greater problem may be the rest of the Islamic world. Winning the peace will be far more complicated than winning the war.

My opinion is that too often, American foreign policy has been like the eagle who dropped a quill. An Indian brave finds the quill and uses it to craft an arrow. Then he shoots the arrow at the eagle. Whether it was supporting despots to contain Communism, oil companies and the CIA meddling in the Iran-Iraq war, the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan or favoring Israel over the Palestinians, we haven’t made a lot of friends in the Middle East over the years.

"He that sows thorns, should never go barefoot." ~ Ben Franklin, 1756.

The aftermath of the Second Gulf War will be a tremendous opportunity to change the way we are viewed in the region and the world..

First of all, we have to bring our European friends and allies back on board. The U.N. is still the best apparatus we have for providing aid and structuring any sort of a government in Iraq. This will also go a long way in restoring our stature throughout the world. At one time Muslims saw us as a bad guy, now seems like everyone does.

"Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults." ~Ben Franklin, 1756

The other thing we need to do is stick around and help, no matter the cost.

Today is an important anniversary. On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the Marshall Plan into law. This program channeled more than $13 billion in aid to Europe between 1948 and 1951. It sparked economic recovery in Europe, devastated by World War II, it also saved the U.S. from a postwar recession by providing a greater market for our goods. The White House estimated the cost of 30 days of war with Iraq at approximately $80 Billion. What would happen if we spent just $20B on food, medicine and shelter for the Iraqis and the Afghans?

According to then Secretary of State George C. Marshall "Our policy (was) directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist."

President Kennedy had similar aims with his proposals for the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps. If we sell people weapons, eventually they’ll use them against us. If we bring them doctors and farming and bridges and dams and canals they will consider us friends rather than bullies.
"Where there is Hunger, Law is not regarded; and where Law is not regarded, there will be Hunger." ~ Ben Franklin, 1755, "Wars bring scars." ~ Ben Franklin, 1745