Why We've Been Failing in Iraq "A Final Informationalist's Word for the time before I Move onto More Pressing Issues e.g. the Environment"


The critics of the Iraq war have become far more numerous than the supporters that were present in March of 2003. The current discontent among the public and on Capitol Hill are at levels not seen since Vietnam. The President's new plan to send more troops has been met with huge amounts of resistance, and his decision to accelerate the plan can be viewed as a complete disregard for legislative authority. In short, Bush has become almost autocratic towards Iraq because it is his last option. Failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States, however, it would be an even greater disaster for George W. Bush.

So after tens of thousands of lives and a trillion dollars, why haven't things come together?


I've already outlined a plan to get us out of Iraq if we wish to stay inside. However, I fear that the American public no longer wants to dedicate the manpower or the money to try and fix the situation in Iraq. What's worse, despite the extreme weath of the builders of this war based on disinformation, their wealth is certainly not enough to bring stability to the country.


Why has Bush's vision failed?

The Bush Administration has suffered from ethnocentrism in the Iraq disaster. The toll of this ethnocentrism has been catastrophic. They are laboring under the ethnocentric assumption that every knows of and wants representative democracy. They feel that once people are allowed this "freedom" then little Americas will pop up everywhere, and they'll all be greatful that we showed them the light.

The truth, however, is more sobering. People have to be educated to live in a representative democracy. Tolerance and equality and representation are far from instincts, they are acquired disciplines. This is what makes Informationalism so important. The sharing of Information is the only way we can discover the things that work towards the progress of our species; it is the only thing that can keep us from giving into our infantile impulses and eventually destroying ourselves and those around us.

The Bush Administration has thrust democracy on Iraq without the education. Representative Democracy in a culture that has not yet accepted the tolerance of different opinions and the stipulations of majority rule as well as fear of the tyranny of that majority is useless. It is doomed to failure. It is the same mistake made in post-colonial Africa.

What must be done?

The people must be empowered. However, you cannot empower them with the vote if you do not first empower their mind. To empower their mind you must ensure that their mind and body are sound, which means they must not be wanting for food or water or the various basic resources that humans in chaotic situations must struggle in terror to acquire.

This returns us to Informationalism. Education. The Iraqi people cannot be "forced to be free" in the words of Rousseau. They must be taught to be free. In order to be taught to be free they must have a time and a place to learn. We are not providing that, and all the prime minister wants is the guns to settle the dispute once and for all.

The dispute will never be settled with guns. Force does not make right. Perhaps blood must be spilled to begin the process, but it can never be completed with blood. It must be completed with minds.


I would encourage all of you who read this blog to tell all those that you know that education is the way out of Iraq. Write your congressperson or letters to your newspaper editor and let the voice of reason be heard. Somebody has to speak for these people, for today they cannot speak for themselves. They are hungry, they are thirsty, they are afraid, and our country has helped to create this situation. If it is as Lao Tzu said, and the way for a large nation to master a small one is to be humble, then let us be humble to the people of Iraq. Let us lift them up and not trample them down with our forced government. Let us build schools and not close them, let us open minds and not shut them. We are in a race against time! Information is the way out of Iraq. Before you can free a body, you must free the mind.