By JAMES K. FITZPATRICK
When I was a young man, there was a period of years when I was intrigued by argument that history was moving along a predetermined plan determined by God. It was a proposition that seemed plausible to me because it seemed that the “good buys” always emerged triumphant in the great conflicts of each era, even if it took some time. You can see why I was willing to buy into the theory. Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and Tojo got their comeuppance. Napoleon was eventually stopped. The Moors were driven from Spain. The Soviet Union crumbled. I am sure you could add to the list.
But I eventually gave up trying to make the events of history fit a formula that I could comprehend. Do the “good guys” always win? Fidel Castro and the Chinese Communists are still in power. Was it really better for the world that the Jacobins took control of France after the Terror? And what about the successes of ISIL in the Middle East?
Consider the response to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, May 24. Carter reacted to the victory of ISIL over a much larger and better equipped Iraqi military in the battle for Ramadi by stating flatly, “That says to me, and I think to most of us, that we have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and defend themselves.” President Obama said the same in an interview with Atlantic magazine: “If the Iraqis are not willing to fight for the security of their country, we cannot do it for them.”
Commentators on both sides of the political fence came forward to agree with Carter and Obama. We heard conservatives, such as Patrick J. Buchanan and Bernard McGuirk on Fox News, and liberals such as Chris Matthews on MSNBC, making a case identical to that made by William Astore, a former U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, in the American Conservative a year or so ago: “Military training, no matter how intensive, and weaponry, no matter how sophisticated and powerful, is no substitute for belief in a cause.”
It is hard not to get the impression that the critics are arguing that the mass murderers, beheaders, torturers, kidnappers, and rapists in ISIL are better men — in some difficult to define way — than the villagers and townsfolk who cannot stand up to them.
I don’t want to put words in the mouths of the critics, but, if they are, I say it is an unfair charge. Despicable villains in history have often displayed great vigor, drive, and purpose. The cliché told to children about how bullies will back down when you stand up to them does not always hold true; bullies often get angrier and strike back with greater force when opposed. Bullies are bullies because they have discovered that cruelty works for them.
Some examples: A motorcycle gang will likely succeed in intimidating and embarrassing a group of men with their families at a parish picnic. The Nazi Wehrmacht marched arrogantly down the Champs-Elysees in front of hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen more gentle and kind than they. Viking marauders rampaged through Christian towns filled with good and pious folk. But the greater energy and willingness to die for their cause did not make the conquerors better men.
And, more to the point, the virtuous men who were their victims were not less manly and worthy of esteem because they could not stand up to the evil confronting them. It is not that simple. It may be that the same can be said of the Iraqis and Syrians fleeing timorously from ISIS: the fact that they cut and run does not indicate that they are unworthy of support — not in and of itself.
The point is not that the United States should become more directly involved in the war against ISIL. That can be debated. But the argument against getting involved should not be the “cowardice” of those who flee from ISIL when they are attacked. Military resolve must be instilled in an army that is expected to perform with valor on the battlefield. It does not happen by itself. That is why our military conducts boot camps. It is a way of developing a warrior spirit in young people who have come from families and neighborhoods where gentleness and fair play have been encouraged.
There is another thing: a reasonable chance of success on the battlefield must be provided for those we expect to put their lives on the line. No question, there have been suicide missions in the past where heroic individuals willingly sacrificed themselves, rather than see their family and friends slaughtered by an invading army. But that is an extraordinary and not to be wished-for situation. When people can save their families by fleeing, they do it.
If we want an army to fight, it must be given something more than the chance to down in a blaze of glory, after which their family will be ravaged anyway. Colonel Astore is correct: It is not enough to provide weapons for those that we expect to take on the enemy. Committed and dedicated leadership and training are more important than equipment.
An analogy: We would not expect middle-class men recruited to be police officers to march against the Bloods and the Crips in the streets of Chicago, if all we did was assign them handguns and a uniform and told them to come up with a plan on their own. The police should be a dominant and overpowering force in their confrontation with evildoers. Police officers would not be lesser men if they did not fare well in hand-to-hand combat with the young street thugs who comprise inner-city gangs. And the gang members would deserve no praise — they would not become the good guys — if they demonstrated great commitment to urban warfare in an even match against the police.
A healthy society does not work that way: It does not aspire to create an “even playing field” between those that defend it and the forces of evil.
The bottom line: If we decide to let ISIL have its way in the Middle East, the reason should not be that they were more spirited on the battlefield than their opponents. The Magnificent Seven was an escapist movie, but there is a valid moral to its story about cowering peons needing training and direction from professional gunfighters to turn them into valiant defenders of their loved ones.
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