A picture's worth a thousand words

The pictures that were made public last week on "60 Minutes II" said it all to those who argue that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is about dominating the Arab world. And unfortunately, they will enhance the recruiting efforts of any organization that seeks to destroy the "infidels" of the United States. They were, as the president said, "disgusting." We can continue to sink American lives and American millions into Iraq, but we will not be able to undo the damage these photos did to U.S. efforts to democratize and stabilize the Middle East.

The other picture that spoke volumes about Iraqi occupation angst was of an Iraqi general in full Saddam army gear being photographed as he attempted to straighten out the delegation in Fallujah. While it may have made the people of Fallujah happy to see one of their own, the Shiites went nuts at the prospect of an old regime member returning to prominence.

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While our president has said he does not like to look back on events and that he is not the reflective type, I would encourage him and his administration to look in the mirrors of the West Wing and see if perhaps these pictures tell a bigger story – a story of one blunder after another with regard to the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq.

Voila! Shock and awe worked. U.S. troops broke the world record for regime collapse. The problem is that the Iraqi resistance mindset was literally – even before the invasion began – if you can't beat 'um, hide and wait. Saddam's military changed into their civilian clothes, abandoned their makeshift shooting positions, hid their weapons and gave the big thumbs up to the American troops rolling into town. Tear down the Saddam statue, sure, why not? We never liked him much anyway. Then, they patiently waited to see what the well-armed, wealthy Americans would do.

Experts say it takes three things to rebuild a failed state: Time, money and people. Iraq is critically short on all three:

1. Time: Granted, the United States has only had a year, but Iraqi patience is running out and the death toll on both sides is rising. Given the logic, it will get worse before it gets better.

2. Money: The State Department is looking into having fundraising events for Iraqi reconstruction projects. Where did the reconstruction money go? No one seems to know.

3. People: The Bush administration mantra, until recently, has been that we have enough people. Now that Iraq has splintered into what is rapidly becoming a three-front war, the administration concedes that we need more people.

I am on record many times as saying that our soldiers have admirably tried to be all things to all Iraqi people, commando by night, social worker by day. The problem is that they are not trained to be social workers – especially when they cannot distinguish between the people they are trying to help and the people they are trying to kill.

Make no mistake; our military is trained to do one thing: win wars, not hearts. Our troops won the war in Iraq. Unfortunately, their commander in chief set them up to fail when he required more of them than they were able to handle. Our men and women in uniform are sacrificing and serving with dignity and valor, but ask them and they will tell you they have not been given the resources, training and guidelines to finish the job of stabilizing this volatile nation.

Take looting for example. Every Iraqi I spoke with was upset about the looting that occurred after the fall of the regime. The soldiers, they say, should have done something about it. The problem, however, when speaking with the military is that they had no instructions to stop the looting until after most of the damage was done.

If the administration could not foresee this, then they need glasses. I'm no social scientist, but I know from experience that disorder tends to result in looting. Remember the Los Angeles riots? I am told hundreds of millions of dollars are being used to repair or replace the looting and vandalism. The Iraqis ask how the United States of America could be so inept.

The verdict is still out on the Reservists who tortured the Iraqi prisoners or where our Iraqi general will lead the people of Fallujah, (perhaps he will emerge as an Iraqi version of Pakistan's Musharraf). I do know one thing, however: If the U.S. mission in Iraq is going to succeed, our president must first see his own role in these failures.

War is an ugly thing that can bring out the worst in the best of people. Before the president dismisses the actions of a few as disgusting, he should reconsider a Bible verse he has been fond of quoting in the past: Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your eye?