Pearl Harbor
Sixty-five years ago the Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor. 2403 were killed, 1178 were wounded, and the Pacific fleet smoldered. It was a dark day probably even darker than Sep. 11, 2001. When the Twin Towers came crashing down we knew our world had changed. We knew an ocean didn’t protect the U.S. from her enemies. We did know we were the world’s only superpower. We knew we had the ability to launch bombs on anyplace on the planet. Back in 1941 things weren’t so cheery. The U.S. was enduring the Great Depression. The military was small and suddenly Japan attacked with Germany soon after declaring war.
The Iraq War has gone on longer than anyone has wanted. It seems Iraq has become a perpetual motion machine with Sunnis killing Shia with American troops in the middle. The President is in a funk, and many Americans just want to wash their hands of the whole mess and bring the troops home.
I’m sure on many occasions during World War II the American public and her leaders were disillusioned. The costs of that war were rationing, price controls, a draft, and thousands of American troops killed every month. Yet the nation kept fighting. They knew that even though the fighting wasn’t on American soil an Axis victory would mean that one day the fighting would come home.
The same can be said about Iraq. While acknowledging the intelligence failures and the incorrect assumptions about the invasion and occupation bailing out of Iraq would be a disaster. It would turn over an oil-rich nation to Sunni Islamists who want the West living under the caliphate and Shia who would like nothing better than to link up with Iran in advancing Persian empire. Success in Iraq requires new thinking, determination in the cause of Iraqi liberty, and patience.
With all the money already sunk into Iraq the U.S. remains a very rich nation. Materially we can continue the struggle for Iraqi freedom for some time. What we need, our leaders and citizens alike, is faith. We need faith that full victory can be achieved. We need faith in the idea that all men, Sunni and Shia, are created equal. We need faith in the idea that all people given time can govern themselves.
“0755AM, December 7, 1941″ [via Dean's World]
“Remembering Pearl Harbor”
UPDATE: Eric Scheie writes,
I think national amnesia begins with forgetting unpleasant events that require us to take action. Pearl Harbor and the September 11 attacks both fall into this category.
I think one of the reasons why some people would especially like to forget Pearl Harbor is that it’s a reminder of a time when this country rose to face the occasion. People today would like to wish the present war out of existence, so Pearl Harbor makes them squeamish.
In best SEAN HACKBARTH impression:
“Pearl Harbor? We were brutally attacked by a japanese sneak attack?
bleh!! Doesn’t matter! Ho Hum! Why do people make such a big deal over this…
wah. Why can’t we just open our borders to illegal immigrants so more Pearl Harbors can be created?”