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Journalism of Courage
Comparisons can be telling. Till the other day, the American military assault on Falluja was supposed to have been this Iraq war8217;s Tet moment. In the fierce resistance being displayed by insurgents was seen confirmation that establishing American control could be far more difficult than had been previously thought 8212; as happened at that turning point in Vietnam decades ago. Certainly, this week8217;s new operation in Mosul has upgraded estimates of the Iraqi insurgents8217; strength. But in an ironic illustration of Marx8217;s famous words that history repeats itself as farce, it is another comparison that looms over the United States8217; military campaign. A video is unspooling on television screens across the world to return the 8220;War on Terror8221; to its most shameful milestone thus far: Abu Ghraib. Powerful images of a US Marine shooting, point blank, a wounded, unarmed Iraqi prisoner in a Falluja mosque have enlarged the tatters in America8217;s case that it is waging a just war.
Ever since it invaded Iraq 8212; indeed, even in the prelude to war 8212; American officials have strained to articulate a democratic, humanitarian sub-text to their engagement in West Asia. To accusations that removing the big bad dictator was merely an excuse to extend American hegemony, they have pointed to a brimming pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: the rewards of free and fair elections and rule of law. Promises of rosy futures, however, are tested in extreme cases in present actions. Battling insurgents in a move to supplant their sway with a humane, lawful order places an enormous onus on military personnel: that they do nothing in contravention of established norms of civilised engagement, as proof of their commitment to the ideals propelling their anti-insurgency operations. And if any one of them does so, his superiors must move in to bring swift, exemplary justice. These are rules, in fact, that most governments strive to adhere to in domestic anti-insurgency battles.
