two worlds...

Today ten americans, marines, were killed by a roadside bomb.

A few days ago i read an excerpt from a commander's recollection of an event in Iraq. I think it was in or around Basra. The market is usually busy and one can get anything at this market from western DVD players to a chinese trinket. The week before this commander's walk and interview a couple of soldiers got hit with a roadside bomb. The commander with the aid of other Iraqi guards and soldiers interviewed shop-owners about the attack. No one admits to knowing anything. He was frustrated. He says, all these people knew about that bomb -- because most of them closed down their shops early that day. He said, they were more afraid of retaliation from those creating these troubles than the Western soldiers. The occupied force leaves one day, but they have to live with those 'insurgents', the commander reasoned.

The commander got killed the following week, as I recall from my reading.

The soldiers keep walking on that market street looking to make sure that it is safe from insurgent attacks or roadside bombs. Their motive is 'to show' that there is normalcy restored to Iraq.

Another 'video' based report on CNN suggested western soldiers would go on patrol and take the Iraqi police/soldiers with them on this patrol. The Iraqi police do not wish to join in on this patrol. But the commanding officers insist that they go. So reluctantly they get in to vehicles and go to this market area to (a) show the strength (b) make sure no irritable elements take over the street, as stated objectives.

There was one other objective: that is to make sure the Iraqi police and soldiers learn from the example.

So, they drag these unwilling, somewhat lazy Iraqi police along with them in vehicles to patrol. Suddenly the commander stops the vehicle and gets out of the vehicle. He wants to walk. He wants those Iraqi policemen to also walk with him, alongside. They think he is crazy. In their mind, they are thinking, they have a vehicle that still runs. Their halfmoon behind is comfortable sitting on that new America supplied vehicle. But the commander wins again. They reluctantly walk and the vehicle meets them at the end of a few blocks.

Don Rumsfeld I am sure is looking at the same reports as I am. The entire American and British commanding officer legions are reading with no end to the same dilemmas as I am. They have no clue as to the origins of the lazy ness of an Iraqi. The phundits on the idiot box are asking, if a soldier in American army can be trained and commissioned in six weeks, why is it taking more than two years to train Iraqi army.

They do not understand because they are standing on an island of their fathers. They are in a different world. They have not paid attention to see the other side.

I do not agree that average Iraqi is a lazy person. The reasons are simple. Iraq (for that matter any country like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Egypt and places like those) can not sustain the level of enforcement America can. The per-capita spending on enforcement in America is far greater than that of any of these countries, even after adjusting for expense in local currency.

Therefore, these countries take the only next logical path possible. That is, to adapt a choice enforcement. They chose to ignore minor things such as robbery or assault on a small scale. These societies rely more on the mere threat of enforcement rather than on actually carrying out that threat.

For an average Iraqi, an Iraqi policeman on foot symbolizes nothing. A capable heavily armed Iraqi soldier standing on ground in two-feet would not scare him. Put a plumpy, incapable, laziest policeman without a single weapon, except for may be a small club, on a heavy Jeep, the average Iraqi gets terrified. The threat works like magic than the actually showing a way about how it works.

I recall a childhood conversation with a friend of mine. I can not be sure if it can be true, but he had witnessed a Police Sub-Inspector in our hometown telling his dad that they do not wish to take small time criminals to police station. They dish out the bashing for a small time crime quickly (like the spanking of a child) and makes him fear for the law. They did not wish him to take him up the stairs (most Indian police stations have atleast four or five steps to climb above ground level). The Sub-Inspector reasoned, once a criminal or a theif realizes that climbing up the stairs is not as fearsome (which he will find out if he ever did), then he won't stop at committing another crime. The threat works.

There is no chace that Americans or British soldiers will learn about the Iraqi psyche. History proved that the West failed miserably in learning the ways of the east. Middle-east is no exception. Vietnam could never be understood by the Harvard graduates. The Ivy-league pride would never let them understand it.

Local solutions to local problems -- in this case -- the cultural solution is a must in order to succeed. Until that time, we will keep hearing these heart breaking stories about roadside bombs killing Americans. I agree with Murtha's challenge to some extent that a repositioning is needed.

As I finish this, it just came back to me that I actually wanted to write about Pentagon paying Iraqis to plant good stories. Well, death of a soldier always takes a precedence over a scandal.