An analysis of the 'White Man's Burden' in Iraq as U.S. troops withdraw from the
cities
POLITICS JULY 2, 2009 BY: RYAN WITT
First let me say that when I refer to the "White Man's Burden" in Iraq I am referring simply to the
commonly known themes in Rudyard Kipling's poem and NOT presuming that the Iraqi mission
is one of race. In fact, the "burden" of Iraq has been felt mostly by the Iraqi people themselves
and the U.S. military which is not a "white man" institution.
For sure Kipling's poem had some racist overtones which are surely to be condemned. When he
calls those to be imperialized the "half-devil and half-child" he surely was not respecting the
dignity of other cultures and races. While Kipling was misguided and outright wrong in many
parts of the poem in other parts he turned out to be somewhat of a prophet. In Iraq many of the
themes in Kipling's poem regarding the attempt to bring up another country turned out to be true.
First, Kipling said that taking up the burden the liberating country would "seek another's profit,
and work another's gain." How true has this been in Iraq? While the United States has spent
trillions of dollars and lost thousands of our best men and women to fight in the country and
eventually rebuild the country's infrastructure the U.S. has yet to see any gains from its
investment. While many a commentator saw the oil revenues of Iraq more than paying for the
occupation of the country this scenario never panned out. Instead right now it is the Iraqi people
who will hopefully profit and gain from the investment in the country in the long term. This is
not to say we will never see a return on our investment or that trying to help another country is
not worthwhile, but as of now the gain is one for the Iraqis.
Secondly, Kipling said that "when your goal is nearest" in the occupied country you will be
disappointed when you watch "the sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hopes to naught." Once
again I would refrain from calling the Iraqi people "sloth" and "heathens" but there is no doubting
that time and again the U.S. military has been frustrated in watching their efforts take a step back
wards when insurgents destroy the progress being made. In addition, Iraqi military forces have
many times proved unreliable in keeping areas of the country secure and development on
schedule. Hopefully the Iraqis can take control for stability and progress in their own country
now that U.S. troops have pulled back.
Perhaps most fittingly, Kipling predicted that when occupying a country and trying to better
rather than being thanked by the people you would instead engender "the blame of those ye
better" and "the hate of those ye guard." Sadly, in watching the celebrations in Iraq I do not see
an Iraqi people thankful for the contributions and sacrificial blood of American soldiers. I see
them simply happy to see U.S. soldiers leave. Doubtless many Iraqis blame the U.S. and our
soldiers for the violence and chaos that has been part of Iraq the last six years.
It is this author's hope that in the long term the Iraqi people will look back and be thankful to the
country and most of all the American soldiers who fought in Iraq. It would be fitting if one day
in the not-so-distant future a memorial of thanks in Iraq was erected to the soldiers who sacrificed
life and limb in their best efforts to help another country. The Iraqi mission was certainly not
without its mistakes and some soldiers made mistakes while serving but the fact remains that the
overwhelming majority of soldiers serving in the country went with good intentions and
sacrificed tremendously, sometimes even with their lives, to try to help another country. If for no
other reason I hope Iraq is able to lift itself up in their memory.
Ryan Witt, Political Buzz Examiner
Ryan Witt is a graduate of Washington University Law School in St. Louis and has
extensive experience teaching government and politics. His articles have been cited by
The Washington Post, NPR, Politics Daily, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Media
Matters, Daily Kos, and Think Progress among...
Witt, Ryan. "An Analysis of the 'White Man's Burden' in Iraq as U.S. Troops Withdraw from the Cities."
Examiner.com. N.p., 2 July 2009. Web. 03 Jan. 2013.