Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: How to change a regime

Tuesday, April 22, 2003 | 8:58 a.m.

ALL THE FOOD IN THE WORLD won't change the minds of people who have been fed hate for decades. Jay Garner, and other Americans having the opportunity to reconstruct Iraq following the war, had better not forget this bit of advice. That's right, the Bechtel Group from San Francisco can build new bridges, buildings, roads, power plants and provide clean water but it will do very little to make the people of Iraq love us.

Not far away, in Israel, the Quartet (EU, UN, Russia and the U.S.) are providing a roadmap for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. Here again we have outsiders with all of the fancy gimmicks but not one mention of eliminating the root cause of hate. Teaching the right for Israel to exist and ending the Palestinian school system that teaches hate haven't been placed on the table by the Quartet. A good start would be true summer camps where Palestinian children would learn how to swim and play games instead of practicing war and learning how to shoot automatic weapons.

The schools in Iraq aren't much better according to author Phebe Marr who, in The New York Times, reviewed the fifth and sixth grade civics books of Saddam Hussein's regime. The books are loaded with a list of enemies and the justification for Saddam's brutal internal security agencies. Marr writes:

"Adversaries are defined mainly as the United States, Zionists, NATO allies and Iranians. Saddam Hussein called the eight-year Iran-Iraq war Qadissiya, after the seventh-century battle in which Muslim Arabs defeated the Persians:"

The author went to give an excerpt used to justify Saddam's internal security forces:

"The forces of internal security are considered among the important apparatuses in Iraq. They are responsible for protecting the security of the revolution internally; for preserving stability; for protecting citizens and preserving their lives and property from those breaching the law. They fight rumors that harm the interest of the nation. The security forces spend a great deal of effort protecting citizens and making sure the sovereignty of the law is upheld; they make certain justice and righteousness for all is maintained."

The fifth graders also get a dose of fear from enemies.

"The Iraqis have, together, defended their country and they have made big sacrifices. They have bravely struggled to protect their country and maintain its unity. Their struggle has been long, recorded in many battles like the first battle of Qadissiya, the second battle of Qadissiya in 1980-1988 against the Iranian aggression, and against the covetous Americans, Zionists and other Western colonialists in the Mother of Battles, January 17, 1991."

Marr goes on to point out that "The textbooks end by recruiting students into the Vanguard, a Baathist organization, partly paramilitary, for children from the third to sixth grades."

A new approach to education can only be effective if the media isn't dominated by the present anti-American Arab outlets. The sooner the people of Iraq have several choices of what can be viewed on television or heard on their radios, the easier will be the transition to some form of free government and an enjoyable lifestyle.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is one of our most respected legislators and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He foresees at least five years of work in bringing a democratic system to Iraq. We have put much time, effort and blood into changing Iraq's regime. We don't want another repeat of history by leaving before the job is done. Remember Gulf War I when we went home and then had to return 12 years later?