The Second Ammendment

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

How would the second ammendment to our consitution (that's it in its entirety above) apply to what is going on in Iraq? What the media refer to as insurgents and the Kurdish militia that are cooperating with the US and Iraqi militaries would probably enjoy some protection under our second amendment. Yet the insurgents are, in the words of the president, people who hate freedom and liberty. Meanwhile the Kurds, who have desires to establish a state of their own, are cooperating in the military effort because they realize it will help them establish legitimacy and gain power.

The fact is, the insurgent groups would have the right to use arms to fight a foreign occupying force such as the USA if they were governed by our constitution. Ironically, we are trying to spread our values of freedom to the Middle East but the widely held view is that the insurgents are misguided and opposed to democracy.

The Kurds operate semi-autonomously in the northern part of Iraq. They provide for their own military security.

Both the insurgents and the Kurds have rights to participation in Iraqi democracy. The fighting that is taking place there is in effect a civil war. The insurgents are not like some bumblefuck militia in Montana. They obviously have enough power and numbers to warrant regular media attention and influence public opinion both negatively and positively. As difficult as it may be for the US to withdraw and let the Iraqis work things out on their own, this is a question of democracy that they must work out without US imperialism in the way. If we want to export our values of freedom, we must start by honoring them ourselves.