Colbert thinks troops first, politics second, on Iraq trip

If you lean to the political right, you are probably not a Stephen Colbert fan -- he's the Comedy Central comedian who analyzes the news and provides analysis in the character of an over-the-top, egocentric, conservative media personality (see his Comedy Central show site here). This week, he taped his four shows in Camp Victory in Baghdad Iraq as part of a USO tour.

Highlights from the limited deployment

The shows, dubbed "Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando," had a series of important and interesting guests and cameo "shout outs," touched on some thorny issues, and always seemed to have the common troops in mind (FYI: "going commando" is slang for not wearing underwear). For all shows, he wore a custom Brooks Brother suit made from the digital camouflage cloth now common with US military personnel (see this Boston Herald article about the suit).

Highlights of the Baghdad shows included:

• Pointing out that the media and the public seem to have forgotten Iraq, and thus, the 130,000+ troops still in-country. This was his primary week-long message, and central to the simultaneous editorial work he did for Newsweek (he was guest editor this week and chose to have the magazine focus largely on Iraq and US soldiers; read his intro to the issue here). He made reference to this point many times during his shows and it seemed well appreciated by the troops in attendance. Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), otherwise known as the Afghan War, was once the forgotten war. Now it is center stage, or at least on a much more prominent stage than Iraq (officially called Operation Iraqi Freedom, or OIF). But for the many US military personnel still in that Middle East country, Iraq is still very much their reality -- and still dangerous, even if overall violence is down.
  
  
• Not shying away from touchy subjects for and about soldiers.
  
  The messaging focal point of his first show was to declare victory. He proclaimed that he, by the "power vested in me by basic cable, officially declare we won the Iraq war." His later guest, the top US commander in Iraq, General Ordierno, didn't concur, but the point was made to the troops. Unlike former President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" serious, official, and incorrect speech on the flight deck of a carrier back in May of 2003, the troops knew that the comedian was saying it in order to not only make a joke, but to also point out that they had done what was asked of them and should be heading home.
  
  In his opening monologue, Colbert noted the long, multiple tours in Iraq and likely future Afghan deployments of the very troops cheering him on in the former palace of Saddam Hussein. While told as a joke, it was most likely a bitter and truthful point to the soldiers assembled -- and obviously something always on their minds.
  
  In a self-debate skit, he discussed the issues of gays in the military, noting that valuable military personnel, such as Arab translators, had been dismissed because of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
  
  Colbert even highlighted the issue of faulty wiring in US military facilities, substandard work that has cost the lives of soldiers.
  
  
• Keeping the regular soldier in mind.
  
  On one show, he interviewed two "regular" US soldiers: an Arab who enlisted in the Army and was planning to leave when the war was over (Specialist Tareq Salah) and a female soldier who corrected him for saying she had "won" a medal (Sergeant Robin Balcom). His final guest of the week, Command Sergeant Major Frank Grippe, the highest ranking enlisted man in the country, was also more about a connection with soldiers than about addressing policy or strategic issues. These two interviews contrasted with the heavy hitters in the lineup for the week, including General Ray Ordierno (Commanding General, Multi-National Force - Iraq; profile here), Lt. General Charles Jacoby (Commanding General, Multi-National Corps-Iraq; profile here), and Iraq Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh.
  
  Besides with some of his guest choices, Colbert connected with the audience and the troops at large on a more basic level. His comedic take on basic training (he attended it for a day) still managed to highlight the challenges and realities new recruits face. His flight with the Air Force Thunderbird team in an F-16 also showed his willingness to make fun of himself while also displaying respect for the dedication and skill of the airmen. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he let his head be shaved (first by Ordierno but then finished by a stylist). If nothing else hit home with soldiers and cynical viewers, seeing a celebrity who obviously banks on personal appearance willingly get a crew cut was especially powerful.
  
  
• Having major, controversial "shout outs" from both aisles. It was obvious Democratic politicians would take part in his show, so seeing President Obama order Ordierno to cut Colbert's hair and watching cameos of Vice President Joe Biden, Virginia Senator Jim Webb, and former President Bill Clinton made sense. But unexpectedly, Colbert also had Arizona Senator John McCain, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, and both George Bush's tape appearances thanking the troops (the most recent Bush is especially impressive given Colbert's inflammatory critique of Bush II at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner back in April of 2006; video here). It was a very impressive, bipartisan collection of shout outs that illustrated how all involved were willing to overlook political differences to send a unified message of support to the troops.

A history of supporting the troops

While Colbert obviously leans left in his political critiques and has never been a supporter of Bush foreign policy adventures, such as Iraq, he has a strong record of supporting US troops. For example, he works with the Yellow Ribbon Fund, whose tagline is "Welcoming Our Injured Service Members Home." He auctioned his cast, asked viewers to buy "wriststrong" bracelets, and links to the site from Comedy Central (article here). He has also been a strong supporter of IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) and its primary public speaker, Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff (read about how Colbert mentioned the organization on his show here; read about the impact of the support here). In addition, the comedian lends support to military-based education programs that "benefit public school students with parents in the military," projects managed by donarschoose.org (where he is a board member).

While anti-Colbert pundits and other detractors may claim that his Iraq trip was simply about publicity or ego, it's clear that it accomplished more than that. Obviously, his trip, and especially his haircut, generated tremendous publicity about US troops in Iraq -- far more than his usual nightly show would have done. In addition, his Newsweek stint further brought attention to the cause. So, in the end, does it really even matter what his motivations were? He did what he said he wanted to do: Highlight the fact that America still has over 130,000 of its soldiers, airman, sailors, and marines in the country. And whether you wear red or blue, at least you can appreciate the fact that he helped a country with short-term memory re-focus, at least for a few minutes, on the self-sacrifice of troops in that region.

Hopefully, if he ends up going to Afghanistan at some point in the future, he won't have to go as a reminder of a forgotten war, but rather as simply someone showing support. Hopefully.

With Iranian elections, the Bush idea of a caliphate seems ridiculous

During the recent Bush tenure, a common administration concern was about the rise of a new caliphate -- a united, regional, if not global, Muslim entity that could threaten the security of the West and the rest of the non-Muslim world. While many thought this fear was foolish at the time, the ongoing presidential election in Iran is a example of why that will never happen.

Islam has two major branches that don't see eye to eye

According to the CIA Factbook, Iran is a country of 66.4 million people, of which 98% are Muslim. However, of those Muslims, 89% follow the Shia denomination of the religion, while only 9% are Sunnis. Compare this to Iraq, for example. In that country of 28.9 million, 97% who are Muslim, 60-65% are Shia and 32-37% are Sunni. In Indonesia (the fourth largest country in the world by population and home to the largest number of Muslims), there are 240.2 million people, of which 86% are Muslims -- 99% are Sunni versus just 1% Shia (from the Wikipedia entry on Muslim demographics here). In terms of radical groups, the religious split trend continues: Lebanon-based Hezbollah are Shia, while Hamas is aligned with the Sunni branch. Overall, out of the estimated 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, the Sunni branch dominates (75%), while Shia account for just 10-18% (CRS report PDF here; Wikipedia demographic breakdown here; everyone agrees the figures are not 100% accurate).

The key point is that the Sunni and Shia have major differences, stemming originally from who would succeed as the leader of Islam after the Prophet Muhammad died (632 CE). Sunnis believe that the best leader should be chosen, regardless of his family, and initially settled on Abu Bakr (many use the analogy of Catholicism and the Pope when talking about Sunni leadership). Shia, on the other hand, believe that leadership should have stayed in the family, and that the son-in-law of the Prophet, Ali, should have been in charge.

[see this previous post that talks more about the Sunni Shia split]

Iranian election shows that Muslims care about regular Joe issues, too

The idea that Muslims could suddenly unite in government, despite massive divides such as the Sunni/Shia division, seems preposterous, and the situation in Iran should further dispel this notion. While the election is not about Shia versus Sunni, its major issues demonstrates how Muslims, when it comes to politics, government, and the economy, don't hold a single view in even one country, let alone a region or the globe. Imagine if you add in the issues of ethnic background, tribal affiliations, nationalism, and geography to the Shunni/Shia problem? A single leader is impossible.

An article from the New York Times today read more like a story about any election in the West, with issues about corruption, foreign policy, and economic stewardship cited as impacting voters:

Less than two months ago, it was widely assumed here and in the West that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s hard-line president, would coast to another victory in the elections on Friday.

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Some say this is another aspect of the campaign that could remain important regardless of who wins. In April, a number of secular and conservative women’s groups joined forces and submitted a list of demands for greater rights from Iran’s next president.

On even a regional scale, the belief that Muslims from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Palestine could agree on a unified policy makes little sense. And that is with more mainstream Muslims. The most radical, such as those in groups like al Qaeda, can't agree on virtually anything and would undoubtedly turn on each other and fellow Muslims if a caliphate came to be (for a fascinating look at how splintered radical groups are, read The Looming Towers by Lawrence Wright). Just look at what is happening in Pakistan with the Taliban for evidence.

No caliphate, no way

The Bush administration had a way of conjuring up scary images that justified its policies. The mushroom cloud over an American city. Saddam Hussein with nuclear weapons. Terrorists with atomic bombs in suitcase at Penn Station. And the idea of a united and anti-West Muslim caliphate.

Of all these, this last vision is the one that has zero chance of ever happening. It made a great sound bite, and some Republican supporters bought into the vision, but it defies all logic and history to believe it could ever happen.

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Note: For further reading, there is a fascinating blog entry on topics such as the difference between Arabs and Muslims, Shia and Sunni, and other commonly mistaken terms and concepts ("10 Facts about Muslims"). Another interesting breakdown of the difference between Shia and Sunnis can be found at Religion Facts here.