An analysis of the 'White Man's Burden' in Iraq as U.S. troops withdraw from the cities

July 2, 3:56 AMPolitical Buzz ExaminerRyan Witt

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Political Buzz Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Iraqis celebrate U.S. troop withdrawal.  AP Photographer Khalid Mohammed

First let me say that when I refer to the "White Man's Burden" in Iraq I am referring simply to the commonly known themes in Rudyard Kipling's poem and NOT presuming that the Iraqi mission is one of race.  In fact, the "burden" of Iraq has been felt mostly by the Iraqi people themselves and the U.S. military which is not a "white man" institution. 

For sure Kipling's poem had some racist overtones which are surely to be condemned.  When he calls those to be imperialized the "half-devil and half-child" he surely was not respecting the dignity of other cultures and races.  While Kipling was misguided and outright wrong in many parts of the poem in other parts he turned out to be somewhat of a prophet.  In Iraq many of the themes in Kipling's poem regarding the attempt to bring up another country turned out to be true.

First, Kipling said that taking up the burden the liberating country would "seek another's profit, and work another's gain."  How true has this been in Iraq?  While the United States has spent trillions of dollars and lost thousands of our best men and women to fight in the country and eventually rebuild the country's infrastructure the U.S. has yet to see any gains from its investment.  While many a commentator saw the oil revenues of Iraq more than paying for the occupation of the country this scenario never panned out.  Instead right now it is the Iraqi people who will hopefully profit and gain from the investment in the country in the long term.  This is not to say we will never see a return on our investment or that trying to help another country is not worthwhile, but as of now the gain is one for the Iraqis.

Secondly, Kipling said that "when your goal is nearest" in the occupied country you will be disappointed when you watch "the sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hopes to naught."  Once again I would refrain from calling the Iraqi people "sloth" and "heathens" but there is no doubting that time and again the U.S. military has been frustrated in watching their efforts take a step back wards when insurgents destroy the progress being made.  In addition, Iraqi military forces have many times proved unreliable in keeping areas of the country secure and development on schedule.  Hopefully the Iraqis can take control for stability and progress in their own country now that U.S. troops have pulled back.

Perhaps most fittingly, Kipling predicted that when occupying a country and trying to better rather than being thanked by the people you would instead engender "the blame of those ye better" and "the hate of those ye guard."  Sadly, in watching the celebrations in Iraq I do not see an Iraqi people thankful for the contributions and sacrificial blood of American soldiers.  I see them simply happy to see U.S. soldiers leave.  Doubtless many Iraqis blame the U.S. and our soldiers for the violence and chaos that has been part of Iraq the last six years.

It is this author's hope that in the long term the Iraqi people will look back and be thankful to the country and most of all the American soldiers who fought in Iraq.  It would be fitting if one day in the not-so-distant future a memorial of thanks in Iraq was erected to the soldiers who sacrificed life and limb in their best efforts to help another country.  The Iraqi mission was certainly not without its mistakes and some soldiers made mistakes while serving but the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of soldiers serving in the country went with good intentions and sacrificed tremendously, sometimes even with their lives, to try to help another country. If for no other reason I hope Iraq is able to lift itself up in their memory.