When will people's diplomacy with Iraq start?

[HamdenRice]

One thing I find very strange about the catastrophe unfolding in Iraq is the lack of popular or people to people diplomacy with Iraq. I remember another republican international relations catastrophe several decades ago -- the Reagan/Bush support for apartheid South Africa. But people in the US began undermining the official diplomacy, through the divestment movement. This gave South Africans a clear message that the US official position was out of touch with the feelings and values of the majority of Americans.

The divestment movement expanded and grew into widespread people to people diplomacy -- South Africans came to the US and Americans went to South Africa (I was one of them -- I lived in Johannesburg for 2 years in the late 80s). American cities "adopted" sister cities in South Africa. Thousands of colleges and universities gave scholarships to South Africans, and South African universities hosted thousands of American exchange students. American and European churches helped South African churches' human rights efforts through the South African Council of Churches, headed by Bishop Desmond Tutu. American judges, lawyers and law professors helped South African judges and lawyers develop the tradition of judicial review of governmental action and the enforcement of human rights standards.

But the late 80s, the positions of the governments of SA and USA were irrelevant and the people of the US and of South Africa were well on their way to building an independent, non-governmental relationship between the two nations.

This happened to a certain extent with Vietnam -- Americans showing solidarity with the North Vietnamese.

My question is -- will the people of the US and the people of Iraq be able to build people to people diplomacy, so that when the official US policy inevitably fails, there will be a solid foundation of understanding between our two nations? Won't we need this kind of foundation even if Kerry is elected, to hold the Democrats to their promises?

Are Iraqis two "foreign", exotic and Islamic for us to make popular diplomacy work? (South Africa by contrast is a fundamentally Christian and strangely familiar place to Americans.) Is it that Iraq is too dangerous? Is it that Iraqis will not welcome any kind of popular American participation, and be seen as crusaders and zionists?

What do you think? Is this a viable strategy?