How America Changed (in June)

America gets real about Iraq war

Miami Herald, July 5, 2005

By Frida Ghitis

We've all had the experience. We don't see someone for a long time. Then come home and feel that awkward shock of noticing how much they aged during our absence. It's not polite to say it, but I will: America, you really changed while I was gone.

I'm shocked because I wasn't gone very long. In just five weeks, the shift in the nation's mood is clearly palpable.

Perhaps I expected to come home to a country getting its beach towels and picnic baskets ready for summer vacation. Instead, with the arrival of summer, Americans appear to have awakened and suddenly discovered that the United States is at war. In little more than a month the sentiment over the Iraq war seems filled with doubts and anxiety. I don't mean that the country is divided for and against the war. That does not seem much worse than before. But on both sides, for supporters and opponents, uncertainty and worry have seeped into what used to be more of a cold political calculation.

Maybe that's not all bad.

One of the changes that I hear is in the tone of the discussion. Before, the arguments over Iraq sounded much like the debates over Social Security, taxes or any other political issue. But now, opponents of the war sound as if they've come to realize that any political gain their side would accrue from failure in Iraq would come at too high a cost not only for America, but for much of the world. And supporters of the Iraq campaign, who once sounded defensive and dismissive of their critics, now seem to realize that there are grounds for legitimate criticism. Supporters of the war and the president are starting to discover that anyone who questions how well things are going is not automatically unpatriotic or anti-Bush.

Sure, opinions still stand divided to a large degree along party lines. But I sense that in the anxiety over Iraq there is a new element of national unity.

A country that works together to win a crucial campaign stands a better chance of success. Without suspecting ulterior political motives in every comment, there is a better chance that good ideas from all sides will be identified and implemented.

I noticed big shifts in America's mood over Iraq after other trips. After traveling for much of January and February this year, I returned to a country enjoying a mild case of euphoria. After all, the sight of Iraqis defying death threats to exercise their right to vote on Jan. 30 had stirred the hearts of Americans and inspired millions the world over. Support for the president soared then, even more than it has plunged now. The same was true after Saddam Hussein's capture in December 2003.

Sentiments will undoubtedly shift again. The carnage in Iraq clearly is cause for worry. Still, violence has not derailed a political process that has so far proved astonishingly successful. Iraqis of all ethnic and religious groups are working together to craft a new political system, even as the car bombs and the suicide bombers explode all around them. And the people who are carrying out the bombings are increasingly seen as the enemies of Iraq. That bodes well for the future.

Still, there are no guarantees in war. That's why the worries about Iraq that took hold during these last few weeks are a sign of realism. At a time of war, we should think about more than what to pack for the beach. That was the old America, the one from five weeks ago.