From Cyndi Scarlett in Baghdad

[Paul Whitaker]

Saturday, January 06, 2007
More questions than answers

We're all waiting to hear what the President is going to propose as his new plan for Iraq in the next few days. Word here is that he is going to ask for more troops, no surprise there.

There is much debate already on TV as well as by our Congress men and women with it appears most coming down on the side of a phased plan to reduce the number of US troops here.

I spent the last few days asking a variety of local people here what they think and the answer continues to surprise me. Granted, I'm talking to the highly educated who while there are many highly educated Iraqis, it appears most who could get out have long gone and those that remain are sharply in the minority and actually quite persecuted. Education has become unfortunately a real issue with the clerics telling the masses of uneducated people that follow them that if the educated weren't here, they, the uneducated, would have work. It doesn't quite work that way - as we all well know but this is what is believed. It's quite sad really.

At any rate, the Iraqis that I talk to are extremely concerned about the US troops pulling out. While the world and indeed many Iraqis want us out of here sooner rather than later, those I talk to are convinced that once we pull out, this country will digress into all out civil war that could rage for years and cause divides that will never heal. Many believe that the reason some Iraqis are vocal about our leaving is because they know as long as we are in the country, they cannot wreak the havoc on the people and country that they would like. It is clear to most that I talk to that Maliki does not hav.e control of the armed forces, the police - or the country.

At the same time, one has to ask why would we want to continue spending millions, billions in fact, of dollars sending in more military troops to try and bring greater stability in Iraq when there doesn't appear to be the political will to address the factions that are causing most of the violence - that of the sectarian militias.

I'm now six months into my stay and I'd have to say that the opinions I formed early on haven't really changed. We should never have come to Iraq, that much is clear to me, anyway. Now that we're here however, I wonder how in the world we can simply pull out - whether or not the government has the ability to govern effectively or the political will to do so. It seems to me that we came in here grossly unprepared and underestimating the role that politics, tribe, history, culture and faith effect everything that is done here. We've created a mess - that's clear - no matter that Saddam is gone from power and won't be coming back... we've opened up a whole Pandora's box of issues that we have not been able to deal with effectively and now the very law makers that voted to bring us here want to simply pull out and leave this mess behind? I find the cut and run strategy extremely troublesome. In the bigger picture, whether we like it or not, stability in the middle east is in our national interest. By destabilizing Iraq, we have in effect destabilized the entire middle east. I fear we are going to be reaping the consequences of our actions for years to come. What a mess...

Blessings to all and Happy New Year!

[Donna Adams]

who is Cindy Scarlett?

[Paul Whitaker]

Cyndi is the daughter of former missionaries to Africa, Don and Bonnie Scarlett.

She was raised in Africa for the most part and after a time after graduating from MNU she was a nurse and then spent time in South Africa, Burundi and Goma with various branches of the US Government, USAID, and is now hired by a private contractor to work in Baghdad to "audit" the work that is being done using US Dollars, etc.

She would appreciate your prayers.

[David Cash]

Very interesting, Paul.

What would be really nice from a U.S. perspective would be if our people in Washington could quit using the situation for political points against their opponents and just sit down and try to do what was best for everybody involved.

David Cash

[Donna Adams]

if we shouldn't be there, why is she there? One of the reasons I asked who she is because of her last name. My husband grew up under her grandfather's ministry, Don Scarlett Sr. in Ravenna Ohio.

[John Kennedy]

It would seem obvious that she is there because of her employment. I can't think of any reason why her being there for that reason would prevent her from having and expressing the opinion that we shouldn't be there. As a teacher for 36 years I frequently had to carry out policies and procedures I felt were mistaken. As a teacher union negotiator I worked to get some of those policies and procedures changed. No one ever came close to suggesting that because of my employment I could not disagree with what I was called upon to do. That kind of lock-step thinking is one of the things that has gotten us into the mess we're in.

[Donna Adams]

but she would not be employed if "we" weren't in Iraq. The fact is we ARE there, and having a family member there makes it more real to our family. My son in law would appreciate much more prayers on his behalf and the entire military instead of hearing so many opinions on what we should or should not do. We ARE there, let's support our troops with prayer and support.

[John Kennedy]

I know you must be very anxious about your son in law. You must be very proud that he is serving his country. I join you in praying for his safety and that of his fellow soldiers.

At the same time, however, I feel that the very freedoms for which they are fighting include the freedom to disagree with what I, and many Americans, feel was an incredibly unwise decision to put them in harm's way. The forces they are fighting have no use for freedom and dissent - the government, or tribe, or religion orders it and you unquestionably obey.

If we lose the right to disagree with what our government does, if we simply have to fall in line because the government decides it wants to follow a particular policy, the brave men who have already died, and those who continue to die, will have died in vain.

I certainly have not meant to offend you - I simply feel a distinction must be made between praying for our troops' safety and unquestionably agreeing with the incredibly flawed decision making that placed them there. I will continue to pray for your loved one and I will continue to oppose those who have needless sacrificed those who have fallen.