History Awry

When wars begin to string together in pairs, it means that something has gone awry in history. Why were there two world wars? Why were there two wars with Iraq? Actually, the answer is fairly simple. The first war was never really brought to a final conclusion; the fighting never settled the fundamental questions which brought on the conflict in the first place.

The First World War was about empire and the German desire to "Have a place in the sun"! But Germany's martial and imperial spirit was hardly destroyed in the Great War. Rather it was twisted and turned to more evil ends, culminating in the rise and fall of the Third Reich.

The Gulf War was much more obviously unfinished business. President George H.W. Bush did not cut to the root of the problem in Iraq by removing Saddam Hussein and installing a more stable and democratic government. The Iraq War at least finished the job of removing the dictator.

We are now in the process of bringing stability and democracy to the region. In recent months I have heard murmurings that we should be focusing on stability in Iraq and not worrying so much about democracy. There is little doubt in my mind that this is a huge mistake that would only create a setting for another brutal war in Iraq.