I so rarely write political screeds … and this doesn’t really count as one, I think.

But you just have to wonder with the latest release of photos of mistreated Iraqi prisoners, exactly what is going on here? Isn’t someone thinking about how all this must look to the rest of the world? I suppose the answer must be pretty obvious to anyone outside the US.

“No.”

If winning the hearts and minds of Iraq were a PR assignment (and, in a sense, it is), how would we advise our client to proceed at this point? This is crisis communications 101 and the client is blowing it big time. It is a situation, literally, of “us” against the world.

So what’s next? Backlash. Big time. And more disturbing revelations. You can count on it. While pictures of mass graves from Sadam’s years of terror seemed to justify a US invasion of Iraq a year ago, these pictures and others that are bound to surface (like what was published in Saturday’s Daily Mirror) will seem to do likewise for the various attacks on US military and Western civilians in country now. Justification, at least, in the minds of many in the Arab world who are desperately looking for any shred of justification that they can.

Should the US have been more aggressive in exposing this problem, from a media relations standpoint – yes. They knew about it back in January. But as is the tendency of military and intelligence types, this is “need to know” information and the rest of the world didn’t need to know any of it, did they? Well, the US and the UK blew it. Here’s what they should do (at least in my opinion):

Get ahead of the avalanche. This calls for more visible action than just a press conference by the President. Conducting a broader military probe isn’t enough, either. As uncomfortable as it’s going to feel, the US and UK have got to open this up to include on-going, third party observation of the investigation and prosecution of those soldiers who have let their emotions get the better of them.

Turning the lights on and leaving them on will help remove the doubt that is going to exist in other parts of the world that this problem is endemic and the fear that it will all be swept under the rug.

Second, get used to the fact that people are going to hate us for a while. Then again, those that want to hate the US have always been able to find reasons for it. Justifiable or not, that hate is going to continue and we have to come to terms with the fact that some of these folks just refuse to be won over. The objective should be finding ways to win over those who are most influenced by them, but still open to persuasion from us.

And that’s where you have to start looking into the cultures of the people of Iraq for clues. Turn to history to find opportunity.

Arab culture is thick with stories and legends of rulers who achieved greatness first with the sword but achieved loyalty with charity. US and UK rebuilding efforts should focus on distribution of food, water and education first. The religious infrastructure of the region is critical and the US occupation there should prioritize the building and protection of mosques as well as the political and economic support of clerics who urge a moderate form of Islam that fits within the 21st century.

Until the US views this fight as one of “modernity” (modern ways) and ethos against “tradition” (ancient views and values that have been corrupted by a few people like Osama bin Laden), we’re bound to meet with continued failure. This is the conflict in which we’re engaged – and it has us stepping into Sadam’s shoes as the “new dictator on the block” rather than as the liberator we think we are.

It’s time we start practicing the values we say America stands for if we want to win the peace in Iraq. Open, clear and honest communications is just the first step.

Later.

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