How is it going to end? Following the removal of Iraq’s tyrannical leader Saddam Hussein, and in the midst of insurgent uprising, many
Americans find themselves asking that question. It is difficult to predict how
long American and other coalition forces are going to have to remain in Iraq to insure that the nation can survive on its own as a peaceful democracy. At this
point, it’s impossible to know the answer to that question, but we can provide
you with a “historical perspective.”
It might come as a surprise, but the United States has plenty of experience in occupying war-torn areas until they can
peacefully recover. After the Civil War, Union forces remained for nearly a
decade in certain Confederate nations, who were hoping to resist the
Reconstruction efforts. At the end of the Spanish American War (1898),
American forces stayed behind to in Cuba and the Philippines. At the end of
World War I, the United States stationed troops in a war-torn Europe until the
threat subsided that the war might rekindle.
Most of these occupations only get minor mentions in the
history books. America’s true test as an occupying force came at the end of
World War II. The United States stayed behind to help both Germany and Japan demolish their old regimes and replace them with more democratic governments.
Sound familiar? That is the same goal of the American and coalition troops
currently serving in Iraq.
How does the occupation of Iraq compare with the occupation
of Germany after World War II? For starters, both of them were difficult. Germany was such shambles after the war, that it was broken up into four separate sections.
Each section was monitored by a various allied nations—the USSR, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
Despite being ravaged by the war (about 3,500,000 German
soldiers were killed during World War II, not including civilians), the
Germans still refused to be completely cooperative during the occupation. They
often released their frustration through violence. The post-war occupation of Germany was so shaky at times that many people in the United States felt that there hadn’t really
been a victory in World War II. In other words, they felt that nearly 300,000
American soldiers had died in vain (slightly over 1,200 American soldiers
have died since the beginning of the War in Iraq).
The most common question concerning the occupation of Iraq is, “How long will Americans be over there?” If history is any indicator,
there is no reason to believe that a successful occupation can be done to
quickly. After World War II, the American military set up a “constabulary”
force in western Germany, which remained in the country for over seven years.
Basically, these troops were like a super police-force, patrolling the nation
in small, mobile units and guarding hundreds of watch towers and checkpoints.
The constabulary force was ordered to remain in Germany until the Germans developed their own capable federal police (the Americans are trying to
help Iraq do the same thing). Even after they left, the United States continued to have a military presence in Europe. Much of this was because of the ensuing
Cold War, in which the United States and the Soviet Union faced off for over
thirty years. Of course, there is no reason to believe that the Middle East
will not remain a sensitive area for several more decades (aside from the
problems in Iraq, several terrorist groups have strongholds in the Middle East,
and nations such as Iran can also be threats).
There is good news. Iraq did not take nearly the beating
that Germany did during World War II. The initial invasion of Iraq lasted less than two months, while the Germans fought in World War II for six years.
Also, over 5,000,000 more Germans (both soldiers and civilians) were
killed in World War II than Iraqis have been killed during the war and
occupation of Iraq. Hopefully, this means that the occupation period in Iraq will not need to be as drawn-out as it was in Germany after World War II.
