July 6, 2003
Another misguided plan.
From the BBC tonight comes an article about yet another plan with no home of success: "'Murder rewards' offer for Iraqis."
It seems that former New York police chief Bernard Kerik is unveiling a scheme to reward Iraqis who provide information about the murder of U.S. or British soldiers or Iraqi collaborators.
[He] told the BBC that the minimum reward would be $2,500. "The attacks on the coalition forces, the attacks on the Iraqi police are nothing more than attacks on the Iraqis themselves... It's time for the Iraqis to stand up and go after these people," Mr Kerik said.
The problem is, unfortunately, that the Iraqis are those people. Imagine occupied France during World War II; that is how the average Iraqi feels right now. At this point, any collaborator risks his life and anyone receiving these "rewards" may as well be receiving their own death warrant. It has become clear that Iraq has not been "liberated," it has been occupied, and, as far as Iraqis are concerned, by a hostile power. Our bungling of the occupation has destroyed any hope of willing cooperation.
This reward system is a bandaid on an amputated limb. There is no hope that it might work. It's too late.
And young American soldiers pay the price for our national incompetence, one by one, every day.