Is Iraq Churchill's War?

Churchill had the foresight in the 1920's to understand the complexities of putting together country borders in the Middle East. Isn't it amazing that we are having the same discussion today over eighty years later. Well discussion is probably no the correct word to use, although there was plenty of diplomatic maneuvers prior to discussion being the incorrect word to use. But did you know that Churchill knew intuitively how to solve the problem years ago? Read the article below to see why President Bush is continuing the war for Winston Churchill.

By Robert E. Freer, Jr., President of The Free Enterprise Foundation

The "Coalition of the Willing," including more than 250,000 troops led by the United States, is ready to forcibly remove Saddam Hussein and disarm his army of thugs of any capability to either wage or foster a war utilizing weapons of mass destruction. While many question whether this war was necessary, no longer is it a subject for diplomats. "Jaw Jaw" in the words of Winston Churchill has now become "War War." There is little doubt as to its ultimate outcome on the ground, but only time will tell whether the alliance will have the fortitude to persist following victory on the field of battle to set the seeds for a new political stability in the Middle East. Fortitude in the aftermath of battle will provide a better life for millions of Muslims and Jews alike and leave the rest of the world a safer place. This must be the ultimate goal of our soldiers' blood, to make this intrusion into the affairs of a state not our own worth the cost. The many today who are derisively calling this Bush's war, however, are mistaken.

Certainly the president deserves full credit for having the courage to enforce his doctrine denying haven for terrorists whether they be the perpetrators or those who shelter and abet terrorists. These times are not for the faint of heart. In today's interconnected world, one suitcase bomb with either deadly toxins or fissionable materials can destroy a city and destabilize an economy. The damage that can be inflicted by such rogues supported by sponsoring or even "fellow-traveling" states cannot be permitted.

The real author of this war, however, is not our president, but Winston Churchill. Sir Winston, as colonial secretary in 1921, convened the Cairo Conference that carved out the boundaries for three separate peoples: Kurds, Shiite and Sunni Muslims. He argued for a separate Kurdistan where the Kurds would be safe "from some future bully in Iraq" but was overruled by his own Foreign Office. If only we had listened to him then, but more importantly, for 10 years in the wilderness of the 1930s while he was without a cabinet post, Sir Winston railed at his own citizens and those of a complacent Europe and America who just wanted to get on with enjoying life and were deaf to the cries of the victims within and then without a newly resurgent expansionist and Nazi Germany. Then. If we only had listened then!

This president, with a keen eye to history is faced with many of the same pressures plus the effort by some of our historic allies who fear the power of the United States as a "Hyper Power" to rein us in. To his credit, the president has spent months trying to work within the parameters of diplomacy. Also to his credit he has not once wavered in his focus that both terrorists and terrorist-sponsoring states will be disarmed. Now is the time for action. None of us can sleep safely until thugs and would-be thugs understand that is the standard by which their behavior will be judged.

Copyright © 2007 by Robert E. Freer, Jr. All rights reserved

About the author: Robert E. Freer, Jr. is President of The Free Enterprise Foundation. He is a Visiting Professor, at The Citadel and elected in 2005 to be their first John S. Grinalds Leader in Residence. A regular contributor to the Mercury, He can be reached by E-mail at The Citadel . Copies of his earlier columns can be found The Free Enterprise Foundation.

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