Iraqis in Flight

I’ve been reading stories about Iraqis who worked for the U.S. and now are seeking to migrate to this country. Many of them have fled Iraq and are living in nearby countries, such as Jordan. Pundits galore are talking about how we don’t want to repeat the mistakes of Vietnam, where we evacuated our own personnel and left behind friendly Vietnamese who feared retribution from the government that would take over the country.

Wait a minute. What’s wrong with this picture? In Vietnam, we were fighting off soldiers and sympathizers with North Vietnam. In essence, we were giving up and leaving the country, opening the way for those "enemies" to take over.

But in Iraq, didn’t we "win"? So why are those people who cooperated with us fearing for their lives? "There is no difference between Sunni and Shia when you work for the Americans," one Iraqi man said in a recent Washington Post story. "Both sides want to kill you."

O.K. So we "liberated" a country from a despot. Yet even the main faction s fighting each other for control over the country are united in their desire to punish U.S. "collaborators." Even though President Bush at one point claimed we "won" the war, Iraqis who worked with us fear for their lives if U.S. soldiers pull out. Or they even fear for our lives when our troops still are stationed there.

What did we win? This suggests, when and if we ever pull out, we’re going to be left with a government that is not friendly to the U.S. And a government not friendly to the U.S. indeed seems to be the one that would reflect the sentiments and will of the people. A majority? I don’t know. Could it be that Iraqis see us as invaders, and not as liberators? Who wouldda thought? Certainly not our President.