Can Reconciliation Bring Peace to Iraq?

The years between 1861 and 1865 were the bloodiest and most brutal in the history of our nation. The American Civil War, in which an estimated 620,000 died, pitted neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother and even son against father. Military commanders, classmates and life-long friends, threw armies at each other, as the dead and wounded piled up like cord wood.

When Lee handed his sword over to Grant at Appomattox Court House, reconciliation seemed impossible. The carnage had left festering wounds, not just upon the combatants, but on the very psyche of the American nation. Years of hatred followed. Eventually, most of the wounds healed, sometimes leaving scars still felt today.

But reconciliation did take place. The people did forgive, if not forget, and America did become a “United” States once more.

Which brings me to Iraq today, and the proposed Amnesty suggested by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Immediately seized upon by the left, Democrats and their allies in the press, pounced upon the plan. Under the misleading headline, “Iraq Amnesty Plan May Cover Attacks On U.S. Military”, the Washington Post chose to attack the plan.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday proposed a limited amnesty to help end the Sunni Arab insurgency as part of a national reconciliation plan that Maliki said would be released within days. The plan is likely to include pardons for those who had attacked only U.S. troops, a top adviser said.

Fox News chose to tell the truth of the matter, in their online version of the story.

Iraq's prime minister unveiled a 24-point national reconciliation initiative Sunday, offering amnesty to insurgents who renounce violence and have not committed terror attacks.

It is important to note the difference in the handling of the two stories. Nouri al-Maliki recognizes that former Saddam loyalist and Baathist Party members, who fear the new government and the American presence, must be brought into the government if stability is to be established. Once he has done that, the only ones left fighting will be terrorists, and it will be easier for his government to garner support for destroying those terrorists. It is a matter of establishing trust with all the people of Iraq.

The Democrats have insisted that Iraq has descended into a civil war. They have consistently refused to recognize that Iraq has long been a magnet for terrorists, and that we have been fighting more than one group. They have denounced al-Maliki’s proposal, for the simple reason that if peace is established in Iraq, they lose!

Events are enfolding rapidly in Iraq, much more rapidly than we have any right to expect. The establishment of a Constitution, and a government in such a short time is nothing short of a miracle. Now, with the possibility of reconciliation taking place amongst the various religious sects in Iraq, leading to a stable and democratic state, the Democrats are in full-fledged panic.

Like our own conflict, 140 years ago, the wounds are deep, and there will be scars. I believe the Iraqi people genuinely wish to live together in peace, in a region where peace is little known.

This is a first step…we must encourage and embrace it.