Iwo and the Flags of Our Fathers

Kieran Michael Lalor:

Flags of Our Fathers is a moving piece of cinema that further immortalizes the heroism of the Marines who fought on Iwo Jima. Let’s hope that it can also teach powerful lessons about how to defeat a fanatical enemy, for the story of Iwo Jima bears many parallels to the war in Iraq.

In a manner eerily similar to the way the Pentagon expected Iraq to be like Afghanistan, commanders anticipated the Japanese would employ the tactics they used on Saipan, Tarawa and Peleliu. Instead of reckless and ineffective Banzai charges, the Japanese dug in and waited for the Marines to land.

American casualties were underestimated by a startling 80 percent because only light resistance was expected. The intricate system of tunnels, caves and heavily fortified bunkers that made the campaign so deadly, were virtually unknown to war planners.

Despite the intelligence failures and a horrifying 6,821 Marines killed in just five weeks, there was no shameless politization of the mistakes. Likewise, ghoulish celebrations of the casualty count on American street corners were unthinkable.

Historians disagree on the tactical significance of the tiny volcanic island in the wider campaign against the Empire of Japan. However, there is nearly universal agreement that once the first Marine splashed ashore, it would have been a devastating strategic defeat to have been driven back into the sea.

Moreover, our hard-earned victory dealt a stunning blow to Japanese morale from which they never recovered.

On Iwo Jima island we fought a barbaric enemy, using ruthless tactics of our own. To eliminate the Japanese embedded deep within the mountains, Marines literally burned them alive with flame throwers. Today much of official Washington and most of the media, oppose cold rooms, loud music and sleep deprivation to gather life-saving intelligence from the very terrorists who orchestrated the slaughter of 3,000 American civilians

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There is more. When people say we are losing in Iraq, it just shows their ignorance of warfare, and the history of the battle to capture Iwo Jima is strong evidence of the will to win and the sacrifice required. What is missing from the modern Democrat party is the will to win, and indeed, in Iraq a desperation for defeat.