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The purpose of the current war has been to destroy the Taliban, undo al Qaeda, and drive terror-supporting dictators from power. So long as we keep within those limits, however, we are placing ourselves in the position of Israel — you kill so many of ours, we will kill so many of yours. But despite the superb Israeli military, that country's war against Palestinian terrorists is now very old, with no end in sight. Sooner or later, wars must give way to politics.
That happened in 1945, after the Americans and their allies destroyed the Japanese and German ability to wage war. Our occupation forces moved in and led the way to nation building. People say we can't do that in the Muslim world — the most we can aim at is to force the terrorist states to stop the killing — because the Islamic nations are so alien, so far away, and so committed to their way of life, which is more than a millennium old. But the examples of Germany, Japan, and South Korea show there is hope. Germany had been under Nazi rule for a dozen years. It was a totalitarian state. When Dwight D. Eisenhower took up his duties as commander of the occupation in western Germany, he called in his staff to assert that the success or failure of the occupation "can only be judged fifty years from now. If by then Germany has a stable and flourishing democracy, we will have succeeded." Well, that has happened, first of all because of the Germans themselves, but also because of guidance and help from the United States. Japan in 1945 was a feudal society and had been for 1,000 years. Japan was dominated by its emperor and its military, who were racists and totalitarians like Hitler. No Japanese citizen had ever voted in a meaningful election. Women were not educated, nor did they participate much in national life. During the war, the hatred between the Japanese and the Americans was unbounded. The things they called each other, what they thought about each other, what they did to each other . . . But beginning in September 1945, when American occupation forces moved into Japan, much was changed. We did not try to convert Japan to Christianity, but under Gen. Douglas MacArthur's leadership we did guide and help build a modern democracy, with full rights for women. Those activities continued, around the world. In 1948, the Americans flew their former bombers in the Berlin airlift, to save West Berlin from the Communists. That same year, America committed vast amounts of its resources to restore the economies of former allies and former foes alike. This act of generosity was unparalleled in the annals of human history. Today, the stable democracies of Western Europe and Japan owe their existence in no small measure to the Marshall Plan. In 1950, America committed herself to a major war in Korea, not to conquer but to defend. By 1953, South Korea was in shambles. But through their own efforts, and with help from the American Armed Forces — who are still there — the South Koreans turned their country into a flourishing democracy. The difference today between North Korea and South Korea is obvious to all. The nation building in Germany, Japan, and South Korea — made possible by foreign aid and its companion, the American Armed Forces stationed abroad — was one of the great developments of the 20th century. It can be done again in the Muslim world. I saw it happening in Bosnia, where I spent Thanksgiving 2001 on a tour for the USO, meeting and talking with the troops of the U.S. 29th Division. They are in a country that is about one-third Muslim, one-third Croat, and one-third Serb, a country in which people have been killing each other for centuries. But when the American Stabilization Force came to head up a 33-nation peacekeeping force, the Bosnian people saw Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, black Americans, and white Americans, men and women, plus Greeks and Turks, Germans and French, all working together. Now the Muslims, Serbs, and Croats are following their example, rebuilding, cooperating, creating a new nation. To do the same in Afghanistan and in other Muslim countries, we must stay, set an example, and lead. To get the American people to support the war on terror — and the nation building that must follow — we can look to the World War II example. Pearl Harbor, like September 11, 2001, pulled us together, but we still needed leadership to stay the course. Two of the many things the Franklin Roosevelt administration did serve as models. First, getting the children involved. I was a kid during the war. We were urged to do our duty. That included gathering tin cans, saving bacon grease, growing victory gardens, buying war bonds with our pennies and nickels, making sacrifices. Whenever we complained about shortages due to rationing — leather shoes, gasoline for the family car, too many tuna-fish casseroles, not enough sugar — we were told, "We are all in this together." There are scores of ways we can get today's children involved. One suggestion: Have them work on weekends at whatever job, then donate their pay to a fund to provide food for needy Muslims. Children feeding children. Second, explain the war to the people. In 1942 the Office of War Information persuaded Frank Capra to supervise a series of movies entitled Why We Fight. The movies were Hollywood at its best. How did Hitler come to power? What countries did he invade, and why? The same for Mussolini and Tojo and the Emperor. Who were our allies, in China, France, Britain, the Soviet Union? What were they like? Most of all, as the title of the series put it, why are we fighting? We can do the same today. The American people are woefully ignorant about the Islamic world. Hollywood's best directors and actors and technical people should make movies and TV specials that tell us who the Muslims are, what they want, why so many of them hate us so much. None of this is complex or impossible. Out of it would come understanding, determination, a willingness to pay the cost to help the Muslim peoples progress toward democracy. To state that there is no hope for democracy in Islam is wrong. There are progressive Muslim states, where women can dress comfortably and teach, be doctors, and so on. There are 1.2 billion Muslims today; that means there are about 600 million Muslim women. That is quite a constituency. Like every other human being who ever lived, they crave and benefit immeasurably from freedom and education. In his farewell address to the American people, Eisenhower spoke to the best instincts of the American spirit:
Such a world is still a long way away, but we are headed in that direction. If Eisenhower's world seems pie in the sky, consider the things that did not seem possible but then did happen, such as a whole new attitude in race relations among white and black Americans. The greater integration of women. Nelson Mandela walking out of prison. The radiant smiles of the women of Afghanistan as they removed their veils and lifted their faces to the sun. Anything is possible. We must lead. We took the weight of the world on our shoulders when we won the Cold War. To everyone, everywhere, what a blessing. Around the world people say, "If there is going to be only one superpower, thank God Almighty it is the U.S.A." The responsibility that goes with being Number One should be apparent to all. We must be involved. It is our duty and our privilege. True, our grandchildren will still be struggling to fulfill Eisenhower's prayer — but what we are doing gets them started. |
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ince the Vietnam War, many Americans have ridiculed the concept of "nation
building." They have rejected the notion of stationing the men and
women of our Armed Forces overseas. They are wrong. 
