Defend Yourself

Saturday, the Iraqi Government told its' citizens to defend themselves against terrorists. There has been plenty said in the media that this is an admission by the Iraqis that the government can't defend them from attacks. I have a different take on it (don't I always).

The 2nd amendment of the US Constitution states, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". Seems like the founding fathers of the United States believed that the citizenry of the new country might have to defend themselves "or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger" they even made allowances in the 5th amendment for times of public danger. I can't think of a place with more public danger than Iraq.

So, instead of seeing this as a failure of the government ... I see it as a move by the government to emulate the United States in its' infancy. We seem to forget that Iraq is now a new nation and will be experiencing growing pains. They need to figure out what will work for them. While the United States had over 50 years to establish itself before the War of 1812, the Iraqi government has been under siege since it's inception.

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Interesting News From Iraq

60 people were injured and 8 killed in Nasiriyah in fighting between Iraqi police and Madhi Army fighters (Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr). But here is the interesting part ... local tribesmen came into the fight, siding with the Iraqi police. Seems they wanted to help throw the militia out of their town. Seems like the Iraqi people realize who is hurting their chances and are now starting to actively support their security forces. I hope this sort of thing spreads.

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