Vincent wrote an interesting blog called
the Red Zone. He understood the problems of Iraq and indeed the middle east better than many, and was irritating everyone by pointing out the "Emperor's New Clothes" principle - Namely, that because of our mad desire not to offend the Islamic world, or appear to be reindoctrinating, we are ultimately doomed to fail in democratizing Iraq.
Islam is fundamentally opposed to democratic principles with its fierce centralized control structure (ultimately Islam presupposes rule by one "Caliph" who follows the Prophet as the God ordained ruler), and in Iraq allegiance in places like Basra is primarilly to the Mullahs and not to the people or the state. In Basra this means that the majority of civil authorities really work for the local Mullah who in turn takes his orders from a higher Mullah (even al-Sadr listens to the Ayatollahs in Iran). Vincent's last op-ed, which probably got his death certificate signed, made that relationship painfully clear:
"In May, the city's police chief told a British newspaper that half of his 7,000-man force was affiliated with religious parties. This may have been an optimistic estimate: one young Iraqi officer told me that "75 percent of the policemen I know are with Moktada al-Sadr - he is a great man." And unfortunately, the British seem unable or unwilling to do anything about it.
The fact that the British are in effect strengthening the hand of Shi'ite organizations is not lost on Basra's residents.
"No one trusts the police," one Iraqi journalist told me. "If our new ayatollahs snap their fingers, thousands of police will jump." Mufeed al-Mushashaee, the leader of a liberal political organization called the Shabanea Rebellion, told me that he felt that "the entire force should be dissolved and replaced with people educated in human rights and democracy."
Unfortunately, this is precisely what the British aren't doing. Fearing to appear like colonial occupiers, they avoid any hint of ideological indoctrination: in my time with them, not once did I see an instructor explain such basics of democracy as the politically neutral role of the police in a civil society. Nor did I see anyone question the alarming number of religious posters on the walls of Basran police stations. When I asked British troops if the security sector reform strategy included measures to encourage cadets to identify with the national government rather than their neighborhood mosque, I received polite shrugs: not our job, mate.
The results are apparent. At the city's university, for example, self-appointed monitors patrol the campuses, ensuring that women's attire and makeup are properly Islamic. "I'd like to throw them off the grounds, but who will do it?" a university administrator asked me. "Most of our police belong to the same religious parties as the monitors." "
(NYT, July 31)
How dare he point out that "Islamic State" and "Western Style Democracy" are mutually exclusive? Ah well, someone has to say these things even if our own state department won't. Until we realize our problem is with an ideology and not just a few people who espouse it, we are going to have a lot more bombings and dead journalists.
- SEAGOON
