Former Army Captain and Iraq War veteran Pete Hegseth, executive director of Vets for Freedom, writes about “Iraq’s Window of Opportunity” in this morning’s National Review Online:
The streets of Baghdad — and throughout most of Iraq — have been transformed, providing a significant window of opportunity to national and local Iraqi leaders. Local citizens protect neighborhoods on the U.S. dime, but won’t indefinitely. The Iraqi parliament has passed important legislation, but Baghdad’s Sunnis have yet to benefit. Muqtada al Sadr’s ceasefire continues, but it may not forever. While the gains are real, they remain fragile.
As our conversation shifts to next steps, Omar emphasizes that “we need to keep the young men busy, and can’t allow their minds to wander in bad directions.” Pushed for specifics, he responds: “Jobs, jobs, jobs.” Public jobs, private jobs, security jobs, and construction jobs; the young men have stopped fighting, and now must find an honorable way to earn a living.
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The months ahead will significantly shape the fate of the Iraq war. Al-Qaeda remains potent, but is in retreat, with the sea of tacit Sunni support drying up. But every infantryman knows that determined enemies will always counterattack. The question is: When they do, will jobless masses be ripe for recruitment — or will al-Qaeda’s appeals fall on deaf ears?