A must-read from Tom Sowell
The left used to deride Tom Sowell most bitterly. The personal attacks seem to have faded a bit, but a t typical attack from the Left on Sowell was the nickname “Tom Soweto” (Soweto is a suburb of Johannesberg, South Africa, and under apartheid was a “township” for Africans.)
Sowell remains one of the greatest public intellectuals of our time, a man accomplished in multiple fields and a columnist par excellence.
This morning Sowell has a must-read essay in the Wall St. Journal, and it’s available on line.
Sowell’s lede:
Iraq is not the first war with ugly surprises and bloody setbacks. Even World War II, idealized in retrospect as it never was at the time–the war of “the greatest generation”–had a long series of disasters for Americans before victory was finally achieved.
The war began for Americans with the disaster at Pearl Harbor, followed by the tragic horror of the Bataan death march, the debacle at the Kasserine Pass and, even on the eve of victory, being caught completely by surprise by a devastating German counterattack that almost succeeded at the Battle of the Bulge.
Other wars–our own and other nations’–have likewise been full of nasty surprises and mistakes that led to bloodbaths. Nevertheless, the Iraq war has some special lessons for our time, lessons that both the left and the right need to acknowledge, whether or not they will.
What is it that has made Iraq so hard to pacify, even after a swift and decisive military victory? In one word: diversity.
That word has become a sacred mantra, endlessly repeated for years on end, without a speck of evidence being asked for or given to verify the wonderful benefits it is assumed to produce.
Worse yet, Iraq is only the latest in a long series of catastrophes growing out of diversity. These include “ethnic cleansing” in the Balkans, genocide in Rwanda and the Sudan, the million lives destroyed in intercommunal violence when India became independent in 1947 and the even larger number of Armenians slaughtered by Turks during World War I.
Despite much gushing about how we should “celebrate diversity,” America’s great achievement has not been in having diversity but in taming its dangers that have run amok in many other countries. Americans have by no means escaped diversity’s oppressions and violence, but we have reined them in.
Read the entire essay.
Iraq and Iwo - First Marine Nominated for Medal of Valor I couldn’t agree more!!! See these reviews and the importance of symbolism in winning the war in Iraq and the GWOT [War of Information]: Iraq and Iwo - First Marine Nominated for Medal of Valor ‘Flags of Our Fathers’ by Scott Malensek [RBT’s comments] The American people need to be reminded of the great sacrifices of our parents and grandparents. The MSM is failing to do this. Some argue the MSM has fallen into the enemy’s trap in the War of Information by carrying its propaganda to demoralize the Aemrican people. Why is there a surge of violence in Baghdad where the MSM’s cameras are focused before our November elections? Why aren’t we hearing of the bravery of our men and women in harm’s way defending our freedom? Do you know the name of the first service person who was awarded the Medal of Valor in Operation Iraqi Freedom? […] Read More RBT http://www.rocketsbrain.com
Comment by rocketsbrain — 10/30/2006 @ 12:42 pm
A must-read from Tom Sowell… HT Austin Bay Blog RBT has been on this kick for several years. RBT ***** A must-read from Tom Sowell The left used to deride Tom Sowell most bitterly. The personal attacks seem to……
Trackback by Rocket's Brain Trust — 10/30/2006 @ 12:49 pm
The Mideast, 195 (October 30, 2006)… Sowell–Iraq and Diversity’s Drawbacks: “What is it that has made Iraq so hard to pacify, even after a swift and decisive military victory? In one word: diversity…America’s great achievement has not been in having diversity but in taming its……
Trackback by Pajamas Media — 10/30/2006 @ 1:16 pm
Thomas Sowell continues to hit the nail squarely on the head. He is such a clear and organized thinker that it is always a treat to read one of his columns. In a way it is sad that individuals such as him stay out of the political arena, but then after considering the more recent antics of both parties, I can’t say that I blame him one bit.
Comment by Vulgorilla — 10/30/2006 @ 7:09 pm
Granted the war may have started out with a modern day Pearl Harbour in the form of the terrorist atrocity on 9-11. But there hasn’t, in my view, been a conventional Battle of the Bulge moment or incidents of wholesale slaughter like Iwo Jima - more like a gradual decline in terms of competence against an enemy who, while certainly determined, is contemptible from a conventional military standpoint. In contrast to World War two, America started out grossly incompetent at times, but improved dramatically as the war progressed - to the extent that three and a half years into the war, the enemy was more or less beaten. Judging the current conflict in Iraq by a similar timeline, it is the height’s embarrassment that US forces cannot even control the capital city. Even in Vietnam, US forces still had full control of Saigon throughout the war, aside from Tet offensive. The real failure has been with how America has fought the information war, where the situation could not be worse. The track record is a litany of disasters and setbacks: Abu Ghraib, Haditha, Guantanamo as well as the botched diplomatic effort in the run-up to the Iraq war, failure to find WMD’s, failure to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict (or even bother trying), plus key reconstruction efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan falling far short of what is necessary to win the hearts and minds of a sceptical and suspicious Islamic population, plus intelligence failures which make America appear like a powerful, but blind Goliath, surrounded by more cunning and agile Davids. As for diversity - it’s nice to see that three and a half years into the war in Iraq, the pro-war hawks finally get it. The Middle East certainly is a diverse place, as America has now found out to its cost. Americans constantly make the mistake in thinking that the rest of the world thinks like they do. How many war supporters could have explained, or understood, the religious and cultural differences between a Sunni and Shi’ite and how deeply rooted their centuries old animosities for each other are? The right-wing Hawks may have felt smug and righteous in berating their left-wing critics for pointing all this out prior to the war are starting. But in the absence of any apparent plan for dealing with this diversity, those criticisms should at least have been acknowledged and not dismissed so arrogantly. The “stay the course” option in Iraq only makes sense if the US leadership has a viable plan to improve the situation. But at the moment, Bush resembles a deer caught the headlights, which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Not willing to discard the political figleaf of ’spreading democracy in Iraq’ by opting for backing one side in the slaughter and subjugation of the others - an involuntary and premature exit from Iraq seems all but inevitable. This would please the ‘international terrorists’ as Mr. Sowell claims. But then again they apparently only make up five to 10 percent of the overall insurgency and could quite easily be fought in another battlefield of America’s choosing, like Afghanistan for instance. They have now been superseded by the native Iraqi insurgents and the newly ignited civil war which America should have seen coming
Comment by EmbersFire — 10/31/2006 @ 4:01 am
EmbersFire I can agree with some of your points. The biggest failure is allowing the enemy free run of the battlespace known as Cyberspace e.g. the War of Information. What commander would allow the enemy air superiority over the battlefield? Further unlike WWII the MSM is actively aiding and supporting the enemy in their misguided/multicultural objectivity e.g. CNN sniper snuff film. Some have chalked up this dillusional behavior to Bush Derangement Syndrome. Also I can agree that a lot of the insurgency is generated by the Shiia/Sunni schism. In a larger sense the Mad Mullahs of Iran vs. the House of Saud. This was instigated by AQ and is continued by its remaining operatives. However there is a shift taking place in that the Sunni no longer see a long-term benefit in the alliance with AQ. The Shiia need to recognize their long-term interests do not lie with Sadr and the Iranians. Another big problem is we’re fighting this war to “politically correct” or too clean. War is hell and we should fight it with all the lethality we can bring to bare to lesson the overall casualties. This is discussed in to two items I linked to. Our strategic threat has shifted from the Saddam Regime to the Iranian Regime. Perhaps we should remove our forces from the Baghdad media spotlight that is being exploited by the enemy with its daily suicidal bombings and mass murders. We could shift our priority to securing the borders of Iraq from infiltration from Syria and Iran. The Shiia and Sunni factions can be left to battle it out between themselves. Eventually the citizens will grow weary and put a stop to this. They need a stake in the freedom we gave them by removing Saddam from power. Finally the fat lady hasn’t sung yet on Saddam’s WMD. The MSM has been running with the “Big Lie” for so long it’s accepted as the truth. As more information comes to light from the Saddam Regime Documents, Saddam did have WMD. Saddam unlike what the CYA believed and continue to believes and is still CYA’g in open organizational warefare with the POTUS, was up to his eyeballs in collaberating and supporting terrorists groups whether they be Shiia/Sunni/AQ Islamofascist when it was in his own best interests. Google “Iraqi General Sada.” Read articles by Roy Robison and Scott Malensek, or read my post: IRAQ WMD - RBT Meets Gen Sada RBT http://www.rocketsbrain.com
Comment by rocketsbrain — 10/31/2006 @ 1:36 pm
To All The Rev. Donald Sensing nails it with his post at Winds of Change this morning: Al Qaeda’s war and US politics [RBT says A Must Read!]
Comment by rocketsbrain — 10/31/2006 @ 2:39 pm
Iraqi Gen Sada on Saddam’s WMD going to Syria… RBT sent this background to the Spokesman Review re Gen Sada’s visit to Spokane. ***** RE: Iraqi General Sada’s vist to Spokane Tonight. Scott Malensek just sent me links to his five part series in the The New……
Trackback by Rocket's Brain Trust — 11/11/2006 @ 12:35 am