McCain no sooner started his speech again — announcing he would seek to reduce global nuclear stockpiles — when he was interrupted once more by anti-war protesters.
“What about Iraq? What about Iraq?” one shouted. Another unfurled a banner that said, “Iraq vets against the war.”
When the larger crowd shouted down the protesters again, McCain quipped, “This may turn into a longer speech than you had anticipated.”
“And by the way, I will never surrender in Iraq, my friends. I will never surrender in Iraq,” he added emphatically to applause and laughter. “Our American troops will come home with victory and honor."
War is not a pissing contest.
John McCain knows this better than most, I suspect. He was, after all, born into a family of warriors, officers in the great American War Machine, waging battle against evil empires and despots in foreign lands. He was born into this family of warriors and winners, pre-destined to pick up the pike and charge onward from Rome, eyes unfazed at the sight of the enemy.
And fight he did, honoring his family in a great war in Asia, his heroism cemented in our history as a captive, tortured and maimed. But unlike the great wars that preceded him, there would be no American victory in John McCain's War. Defeat does nothing to lessen the pain of sacrifice. The hangover of defeat lingers.
So we move forward, the young become the old, taking the place of their forefathers in instigating the battles of youth. In doing so, they choose to refight their own battles, using a new generation as a proxy to win, to recapture the honor they feel they lost when the last helicopter left Saigon.
War is not a pissing contest.
For John McCain, I fear his war never ended. "I will never surrender in Iraq", could easily be supplemented with ", like we surrendered in Vietnam" or "because we were made to surrender, when I know we could've won".
McCain's quest for honor and victory becomes a dangerous game when your victory has already been won, and the honor of the warriors is not questioned. The War in Iraq was fought and won in a matter of weeks, its government toppled and its armies cast to the wind. The young men and women who wage this war have their victory; they have their honor.
America's War Machine managed to encroach upon the boundaries of a sovereign nation and occupy it in quick and brutal war. But regardless of how good we've become with the war, it is peace where we failed so miserably.
We will be not be able to force peace on Iraq. The discontent is rooted in thousands of years of history, which we as a nation cannot fully understand. They will have to sort this out on their own, and I fear that as an occupying force, the only way we will bring them together will be in their mutual displeasure in our presence.
The language of honor, and disdain by John McCain comes across as machismo, like this war is a pissing contest by which your manliness is decided by how badly you want the war to continue. It makes me wonder if McCain truly believes that our country, and the men and women serving it, are dishonored by coming home, by leaving to figure out peace on its own.
Let us not become hostages to words like surrender and dishonor. War is not a pissing contest. Peace is not dishonor. Surrender is not an option. We have won the war. The peace will have to sort itself out on its own.
