When Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Mattis communicated to his troops on the eve of the Iraq war, he implored them to "demonstrate to the world that there is no better friend, no worse enemy than a U.S. Marine." Indeed, beyond the immediate impact of a military engagement, the reputation of a military force - or a nation - is of critical importance. The American armed forces are respected and feared worldwide, and it is almost sad that they have to serve politicians whose political objectives are turning this motto on its head. Because if America withdraws from Iraq before the job is done, our reputation will be cemented as an unreliable ally and a paper tiger. The implications of this should not be underestimated.
In the wake of President Bush's speech invoking the lessons of Vietnam, many have recalled the letter from Sirik Matak, a member of the Cambodian royal family, to American Ambassador John Gunther Dean:
Dear Excellency and Friend, I thank you very sincerely for your letter and your offer to transport me towards freedom. I cannot, alas, leave in such a cowardly fashion. As for you, and in particular for your great country, I never believed for a moment that you would have this sentiment of abandoning a people, which has chosen liberty. You have refused us your protection, and we can do nothing about it. You leave, and my wish is that you and your country will find happiness under this sky. But, mark it well, that if I shall die here on the spot and in my country that I love, it is too bad, because we are all born and must die one day. I have committed this mistake of believing in you, the Americans. Please accept, Excellency, my dear friend, my faithful and friendly sentiments. Prince Sirik Matak.2 million Cambodians were slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge as a result of America's betrayal in Southeast Asia and when you visit the country you can see the lasting damage done by them.
Likewise, Islamists believe America's morally vain self-hatred, narcissistic and self-absorbed decadence has robbed us of staying power, as Mark Steyn observes.
And, as Iran reminds us, the enduring legacy of the retreat from Vietnam was the emboldening of other enemies. The forces loosed in the Middle East bedevil to this day, in Iran, and in Lebanon, which Syria invaded shortly after the fall of Saigon and after its dictator had sneeringly told Henry Kissinger, "You've betrayed Vietnam. Someday you're going to sell out Taiwan. And we're going to be around when you get tired of Israel."Indeed, bin Laden's allure in the Muslim world is derived from his perceived strength. In that culture, weakness is abhorred and power is praised. In this ideological and public relations war, we must remember this. All our philosophical navel gazing and preening humanitarianism is mocked and ridiculed by our enemies. Nothing would ensure a safer future than a resolute stand in Iraq and the defeat of Al Qaeda in that land, which they themselves have declared the primary battlefield against America. Let's not give anyone reason to believe that America is both the worst friend and the best enemy you could have. This goes for Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, as well as for John Warner and Dick Lugar.President Assad understood something that too many Americans didn't. Then as now, the anti-war debate is conducted as if it's only about the place you're fighting in: Vietnam is a quagmire, Iraq is a quagmire, so get out of the quagmire. Wrong. The "Vietnam war" was about Vietnam, if you had the misfortune to live in Saigon.
But if you lived in Damascus and Moscow and Havana, the Vietnam war was about America: American credibility, American purpose, American will. For our enemies today, it still is. Osama bin Laden made a bet – that, notwithstanding the T-shirt slogan, "These Colors Do Run": They ran from Vietnam, and they ran from the helicopters in the desert, and from Lebanon and Somalia – and they will run from Iraq and Afghanistan, because that is the nature of a soft, plump ersatz-superpower that coils up in the fetal position if you prick its toe.
Excellent article.
Posted by: Phil W at August 29, 2007 06:23 PM
