Amateurs, cowards, disloyal

James Joyner writes at Outside the Beltway:

The Iraqi Army has, once again, proven itself to be a collection of amateurs, a substantial number of whom are cowards and/or disloyal. AP’s Charles Hanley provides a timeline of our efforts to stand up a competent force capable of fighting without American support and concludes, “Year by year, the goal of deploying a capable, free-standing Iraqi army has seemed to always slip further into the future.” It’s hard to argue with that assessment.

Perhaps true, but it fails to confront the real problem. The Iraqi army has been formed to fight against their own people for an occupying power and their lackeys in the Green Zone. Whatever the faults of the Iraqis, when they are fighting in what they perceive as their own interest they are assuredly not cowards. As for disloyal, to what, the US?

When I read commentary like that, it's clear why America has failed in being the world's hegemon. The inability to think without putting one's little self at the center of the universe and expecting the rest of the world to be brave, competent and loyal in your interest just does not work. Time to try a different strategy, or give up.