Monday, September 27, 2004
Are we emulating the Germans of 1942?
There is an eerie parallel between the US occupation of Iraq and the German occupation of France in 1942 and later. In both cases, an active resistance to the occupation grew up and became stronger with time. In both cases, the occupier tried to stamp out the resistance by purely military means. In both cases, the means involved killing "innocent" civilians. In both cases, the occupying power set up a government of its liking: the Petain regime in France and the Allawi regime in Iraq. Both occupying powers resorted to revenge killings in an effort to discourage popular support for the resistance.
There are differences, of course. There is no "Free Iraq" government in exile, like the Free French under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle. The American occupation is not directed toward removing Jews or other non-Muslims from Iraq society. Iraq is not united, as the French were, in opposition to the occupier. For example, the Kurds are quite happy to see us occupying the rest of Iraq, their former oppressors. And, of course, we are not motivated by a belief that we Americans constitute a superior race.
There are differences, of course. There is no "Free Iraq" government in exile, like the Free French under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle. The American occupation is not directed toward removing Jews or other non-Muslims from Iraq society. Iraq is not united, as the French were, in opposition to the occupier. For example, the Kurds are quite happy to see us occupying the rest of Iraq, their former oppressors. And, of course, we are not motivated by a belief that we Americans constitute a superior race.
