A similar version of this article entitled "Getting Engaged on the International Scene" served as a guest column during the week of April 14, 2003 for "Southern Seen", a weekly column by Dr. Larry McGehee, Vice President of Wofford College, that is circulated to approximately 100 Southern newspapers.  It can be viewed online at this link: http://wofford.org/southernseen/2003archive/20030414.htm. 

I am happy that the pages of this newspaper have seen different viewpoints about the situation in Iraq in the past few weeks. Discussion and debate about politics (on any level—local, state, national, or international) is always positive. U.S. citizens need to become more engaged in the political process. Dialogue will bring more knowledge and interest to stimulate our greatest civic duty: participation.

News coverage since March 19 has drawn similarities to another turbulent time in U.S. history, the Vietnam conflict. Phrases such as guerrilla warfare, unfamiliar climate, suicide bombers, human shields, and mass peace protests could describe the Vietnam conflict in 1968 or the Iraq situation in 2003. It seems that each day brings more information about the reality and horror of war—accidents, humanitarian crises, missing persons, POWs, and casualties. I will not analyze what is right or wrong about current military planning, but will instead focus on what is needed in post-war Iraq.

One of the greatest battles of the war is the humanitarian campaign. We have already seen the difficulties of delivering supplies in the ship that recently docked at the port of Umm Qasr. But, before the military conflict began, the U.S. Agency for International Development made plans with non-governmental organizations to dispense humanitarian goods. As soon as an area is secure, aid workers and military personnel need to be able to distribute the important tools of water, food and healthcare. Iraqi citizens will only be convinced that coalition forces are truly liberators once their basic needs are being met. Success on the “humanitarian frontlines” will also help to build morale in the international community.

The “patching up” of diplomatic relations on the U.N. Security Council has already begun with the unanimous approval of reinstating the Oil for Food Program in Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to Turkey and Brussels is also a step in the right direction of re-building a working relationship with our allies. And it was good to hear that French President Jacques Chirac came to his senses and decided France would join in the effort of supplying humanitarian aid to Iraq.

Now, political leaders in the U.S. and France need to ease the polarized behavior of their citizens. While some Americans are busy trying to re-name French fries, breads, braids, doors, dip, toast, and kisses, some French citizens are spraying graffiti on World War I graves. These citizens on both sides should be ashamed.

Anti-war protests continue in the U.S. and around the world. Officials in Beijing even allowed protests in China because the protesters shared the government’s position. Let us hope that Americans never have to check with their government before expressing their views. It should be scary that the governor of Minnesota is thinking about fining protesters in that state.

Perhaps one of the most important things all Americans should remember is that opinions on the war and supporting U.S. troops are not mutually exclusive. In other words, even those of us who argued against the war (and those citizens that continue to protest against it) can support members of the armed services. I worry about all those involved in this conflict everyday, and would argue that the majority of Americans, no matter their position on the war, share my concern.

I call upon those that protest against the war to remember that even modern-day principles of just war theory do not place blame on soldiers, but rather with political leaders. One of the saddest times of U.S. history is the disrespect experienced by some veterans of the Vietnam conflict. Soldiers returning home from the Middle East should not be treated with contempt, but with honor for their will and courage to faithfully serve.

The Bush Administration is still weighing the options about what to do in post-war Iraq. In the coming days and weeks, decisions will be made about what actors will play a role in this endeavor and for how long. I hope the United States will be a leading voice for a multilateral solution; a newly formed Iraqi government directed by the United Nations or NATO. Whatever is decided, the U.S. needs the help of other allies—including those that opposed the current military operation—to successfully build a legitimate and peaceful regime in a tormented region.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan once wrote, “The aftermath of war requires no less skill, no less sacrifice, no fewer resources than the war itself, if lasting peace is to be secured.” I believe sustaining the peace in Iraq will require even greater skill, sacrifice and resources.

The United States can start to repair the diplomatic vacuum in U.S. foreign policy and lead the effort to re-build Iraq with one important step: by reaching out to the international community.

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Lucas McMillan is a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar studying for a master's degree in international relations at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England. He represents the Rotary Club of Mullins and Rotary District 7770 of South Carolina.

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