Lowman S. Henry |
Commentary:
Exit Strategy
America finally ends a difficult and divisive war
by Lowman S. Henry, CEO
Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research
More than 30,000 on-lookers turned out to witness the historic occasion.
A gentle breeze blew as soldiers in their best dress uniforms escorted
the flag-draped caskets taking the earthly remains of the last brave
men to be buried in what turned out to be a lengthy and costly war.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. When the war began pundits
and politicians alike predicted the overwhelming military superiority
of the United States of America would bring the conflict to a swift
conclusion. It was not to be. The enemy was fighting on its own territory,
highly motivated to defend their homeland.
When “major hostilities”ended, winning the peace proved
to be even more difficult than winning the war. A new political order
had to be established. There were some who prospered under the old
ways, and now harbored lingering resentment over their loss of status.
Further, their nation’s economy was built on the subjugation
and inhumane treatment of their own people, so a new economy had to
be built from the ground up. And then there were the millions who had
been oppressed. Now liberated, they had to learn how to live as free
men and women. The rebuilding would take decades, and in many was still
remains a work in progress.
But now, finally, with the burial of these last eight sailors, America
has achieved closure.
The war in Iraq? Bosnia? Vietnam? No, actually the scene was Charleston,
South Carolina. The war America had finally found an exit strategy
for was the one it had with itself. You see, the sailors laid to rest
in April of 2004 were members of a Confederate submarine crew who lost
their lives when the vessel H.L. Hunley sank after a battle with a
union warship.
Although the route to the cemetery was lined with fluttering stars
and stripes, the flags on the coffins were those of the Confederate
States of America. The smartly-dressed soldiers conveying the sailors
to their final resting place were re-enactors in Civil War-era uniforms.
The on-lookers, citizens of one re-united nation, came from states
both North and South.
The burial of the Confederate sailors, whose bodies were recovered
recently along with the H.L. Hunley, comes at a particularly difficult
time for our nation. It occurred during a week when America’s
efforts to bring freedom and liberty in Iraq came under assault by
those in that country who prospered under the old, repressive regime
and who are now fighting back against the establishment of a new nation
where personal liberty will flourish.
Mounting unrest, and escalating causalities among U.S. troops, brought
with it a wave of criticism at home questioning President Bush’s
ability to “wage the peace” in Iraq. In this age when plot-lines
wrap up neatly at the end of each television season, many cannot understand
why the situation in Iraq has not been resolved, and U.S. troops brought
home.
But those criticizing George Bush for the lack of an exit strategy
in Iraq need only look at the lessons of history to find their expectations
are completely unrealistic. In the mid 1990s President Bill Clinton
promised us troops would remain in Bosnia for only six months. They
are still there. American troops remain stationed in Korea – decades
after the end of “major hostilities” in that conflict.
In fact, America still maintains a significant military presence in
Germany and Japan dating back to World War II.
And then there is the scene that played out in Charleston. Let us not
forget that binding together a nation after a war cannot be achieved
over night. The reconstruction of the South, complicated by the assassination
of President Abraham Lincoln who sought a gentle touch in repatriating
his countrymen, went poorly because a more vindictive attitude prevailed.
There is no doubt the wounded psyche of America took decades to heal
long after Lee surrendered at Appomattox. It was the gathering storm
clouds of World War I that finally reunited this nation in a common
cause. Yet, even today, in some quarters, resentment lingers over the
War Between the States.
It is unreasonable for us to expect Iraq to achieve in just one year
something that took our nation well over 100 years to accomplish. Yet,
just as the moral imperative was there to end the unconscionable practice
of slavery, America has a calling to bring freedom and liberty to the
25 million oppressed people of Iraq.
The mounting casualties in Iraq are indeed painful for a nation such
as ours to endure. We value life, and treasure the blessings of liberty.
Yet it is precisely because of those values that we must maintain our
resolve.
Many Americans and Iraqis have already died in the cause of freedom
for that land. As a great leader from another time observed we should
take “increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the
last full measure of devotion” and “resolve that these
dead shall not have died in vain.” There had never been a darker
day for our nation when Abraham Lincoln uttered those words. Yet, can
you imagine him turning back?
Lowman Henry is Chairman & CEO
of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc., a Harrisburg-based
non-profit,
educational foundation, and host of the Lincoln Radio Journal.
