Media Center


Op-Ed

November 9, 2006
No War of Ideas Helped Cause Iraq Failure

The Iraq war was the central issue for voters in the recent mid-term congressional elections. Americans are, with at least some justification, irritated with the lack of meaningful progress toward making Iraq into a stable, Western-like nation.

No Effort to Enlighten
Despite a spectacular initial military success, the U.S. effort in Iraq has faltered. The actions by Iran and Syria to destabilize Iraq and undermine progress are to blame for much of the problem. But another important and often overlooked cause of the failure in Iraq is the lack of any meaningful effort to enlighten the Iraqis with Western ideas and values. In other words, in the “war of ideas” barely a shot has been fired from the pro-Western side.

The U.S. government should not be held primarily responsible for this failure to spread progressive ideas in Iraq. The war of ideas is properly the responsibility of every individual in the world who values Western culture and world peace. Such individuals could have organized an effort to enlighten and educate Iraqis.

Right after the invasion would have been the best time to have attempted such an effort. This was a time of relative calm, when millions of Iraqis were ready for a fresh start and break from the past. They were likely as open to Western ideas and values at this time as they would ever be. But virtually no educational effort was made. Consequently, a rare opportunity to possibly bring about positive, fundamental change in Iraq was not taken advantage of.

Western Culture Primer
What specifically could have been done? One possibility is there could have been an effort to publish and freely distribute thousands of copies of, say, an introductory book to Western culture. This book could have advocated and explained, in Arabic, the Western ideals and values of reason, individualism, worldly happiness, individual rights, capitalism, science and technology.

And such a book could have introduced the reader to the works of such Western intellectual giants as Aristotle, Ayn Rand, Ludwig von Mises, John Locke, America’s Founding Fathers and others.

How would Iraq be different today if tens of thousands or more Iraqis, or at least the best and brightest, had in their possession such a book? No one can answer this question. But it’s fair to believe that such an effort to enlighten Iraqis would have had at least some positive impact, if not immediately, then in the long term.

And the suggestion by some that any educational effort is doomed to fail because Iraqis, Middle Easterners or Arabs are inherently primitive, mystical, tribal and warmongering is nonsense. All individuals everywhere on earth of every race, nationality and ethnicity have free will and can change.

In other words, the current dismal state of the Middle East is not caused by its inhabitants’ race or genes. The current state is ultimately caused by intellectual forces – by the ideas, values and beliefs that currently dominate the region. And these ideas, values and beliefs can be eventually replaced by better ones.

Prepared for Next Opportunity
It now may be too late to effectively enlighten and educate a significant number of Iraqis. The intellectual vacuum created by the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime has been filled largely by pro-Iranian, pro-Islamic and anti-Western ideas. An effort, however, could probably still be undertaken with some success in the northern or Kurdish part of Iraq. This area of the country is somewhat “Westernized” and may be open to an educational effort.

Perhaps the best that can be done at this point is to learn from Iraq and be prepared for when another such opportunity arises. If the regimes of Iran, Syria, North Korea and Cuba, for example, are toppled, either from within or without, pro-Western individuals around the world should be ready to spread Western ideas and values in these nations. We should not expect the U.S. government to do it. Nor should we expect the people of these nations to enlighten themselves.

Engaging in the war of ideas, much less winning such a war, requires bold action on a global scale. Passive, defensive and timid efforts will lead only to defeat. The time has come to think and act big, to go on offense in the war of ideas and attempt to shape the world in the image of Western ideals and values.

© 2007 Western Culture Global

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