Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

A Different Kind of Victory in Iraq

Victory. I read the word recently. It’s such a triumphant word. It looks a little wimpy there at the top of the page without an exclamation point, actually. It looked especially weak when I read it, because it was followed by “. in Iraq.”

Victory in Iraq? The combat phase in Iraq is coming to an end next week and the fact that some of our troops can return home is surely a victory. But it isn’t a complete victory by any means, and the sheer exhilaration that the word usually brings is lacking in this case. Regardless, having loved ones return home is certainly one way to measure our success in Iraq. But if your family or friends haven’t been directly involved in the war – which probably describes the majority of our campus community – the reality of that victory doesn’t sink in day to day.

How do we know what victory in Iraq is, and whether or not it has been achieved? Most of us cannot easily measure the U.S. military’s successes in Iraq, but we can assess how much we’ve learned throughout the war and how far we’ve evolved personally from the experience.

What can we count as our own individual triumphs based on our experiences throughout the war in Iraq? The simplest success might be compassion. We can understand how different our reality during this war was from the reality of the soldiers who fought it and the civilians who endured it, and not take for granted their sacrifices and the horrific hardships they faced. Empathy and commiseration are the most basic achievements that we can measure on a personal level. That’s a victory I believe each of us can take pride in.

Reflecting on our relationships with others is another way we might measure our personal victories based on Iraq. Being a part of the Georgetown community provides opportunities to engage with classmates and professors who are perhaps Iraqi natives or simply from a place where people have different perspectives on the issue. It’s an individual success to learn something from our peers, to keep the war and rebuilding of Iraq in our dialogue and to value diverse input and viewpoints.

As students at Georgetown, many of us have in common an interest in global affairs and we strive to implement the Jesuit value of compassion in action in our everyday lives. Our dedication to these Jesuit ideals means we are in a way more responsible; we have embraced the call to contribute to the world and we are accountable for learning from this war. It’s clear that as a whole, we do engage with our peers to learn even more about Iraq, about developing stability and democracy, and about sustaining peace for Americans and Iraqis.

The greatest victory on an individual level in the aftermath of 9/11, after almost a decade of the War on Terror and the continued American presence in the Middle East, is unwavering tolerance. Headlines bombard us with vague terms like “Muslim Extremists” and “Islamic Fundamentalists.” We can achieve individual successes by remaining open-minded, by distinguishing a faith from the politics by which it has been tainted.

Based on the amount of opposition and fierce debate about the proposed mosque and Islamic center planned near Ground Zero in New York City, it seems that the United States, as a whole, hasn’t remained completely open to what some see as foreign and different. Confusing the practice of a religion with the practice of terrorism and assuming the worst of people is the ultimate failure after all our efforts in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. True victory is not removing some of our troops from Iraq; it’s evolving in our thought process and growing as a nation from the experience.

We are capable of this victory as individuals. We can practice compassion, we can put that empathy into action by partaking in discussions and debating the issue, we can learn from our community, and we can remain open to difference – different people, different experiences and different ideas. Declaring “Victory in Iraq” may be a little premature, but based on the people I meet here on campus, I have faith in our own victories.

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