...because they can't speak the language
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT1I95dqrAY
This minute and twenty seconds of troop tomfoolery poignantly illustrates a few reasons as to why we've been having such trouble in Iraq. In the video, we see some of our uniformed best patrolling an Iraqi neighborhood via tank looking to preserve the peace and all good order. Our heroic troops intercept some mild mannered Iraqi gentleman 'liberating' (looting) firewood and loading it onto their vehicle. One of our troops attempts to inform the natives that they can't be stealing firewood then proceeds to lecture the father, who's young son can be seen tagging along, on the topic of truancy.
"This boy should be at school, not hanging out with you!"
The commanding officer then addresses the camera and explains that the Iraqis can't understand them, so to make his point clear the troops first shoot the Iraqi vehicle (firewood and all) then crush the car under the treads of their tank.
Observations and Conclusions:
1. Though the actions of these troops are abhorrent, the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the troops' Commanding Officers, ex-Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and our current Commander in Chief - Pres. Bush. Because of their failing to plan the war, these troops don't have interrogators and linguist subject matter experts to aide patrols. Roaming military patrols will find it difficult to keep order and peace when they are seen as jackbooted thugs nobody can communicate with - in fact, they aggravate the problem.
2. Telling a parent living in a war zone that they should not be with their child does little but belie one's own ignorance. Trying to lecture a parent in a tongue unfamiliar to them is a useless and stupid exercise.
3. I've always been a big fan of preserving some traditional elements of our American culture. I've always believed we should preserve English as our numero uno language, but particularly after watching this little clip, I've realized that 'English only' legislation really only accomplishes one thing - insulating Americans from the outside world and keeping communication limited to the fish bowl.
4. When acting as a 'liberator' try to be careful and polite when dealing with the newly liberated - civilian casualties in excess of 600,000 is bad, crushing their cars with your tank could be the straw that breaks the camel's back!
I wonder if that little boy will grow up with a positive view toward American troops after this personal experience? Will his chances of becoming an 'insurgent' or even suicide bomber increase? It's not hard to figure as to why 'terrorist' attacks against Coalition members are going up not down the more we entangle ourselves in the tar baby of Iraq.