Opinion
Down
and Ready to Get Out
by
Ishtiyaque Danish
The views expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of the Newsletter (editor)
Finally
the American arrogance is paving the way for reason to dominate
them; so it appears right now. With mounting causalities in Iraq,
they are down and, therefore, are ready to get out. The Iraqi
resistance movement, still largely shapeless and leaderless, merits
appreciation. The reason is that they have taught a lesson to the
most arrogant administration that the US ever gave to the world.
The
US decision to end American occupation of Iraq by July 2004 has been
prompted mainly by the success of the Iraqi resistance. Washington
has rightly come to the conclusion that the resistance is wide
spread and is not confined to the remnants, of the old regime,
though they do not say it openly. Had it really been so, they would
have been caught by now and crushed with the help of the Iraqi
people. But the resistance’s success brings home the point that
they enjoy wide spread public support.
It
is still not clear what arrangement the Americans will leave behind
once they finally quit Iraq. Their dependence on the Iraqi Governing
Council is obvious. But will it succeed where they have failed is
the million dollar question. And this question leads to another
disturbing question if Iraq will be able to govern itself properly
or will it become the Lebanon of 1970s and 1980s. The prospect of
civil disorder can not be ruled out, and this even might result in
the dismemberment of the country for which the American
shortsightedness must be blamed.
If
the Americans think that they can succeed to have a Karzai type of
arrangement in Baghdad that will be protected from the sky by
American air force, they are grossly mistaken. For, in Afghanistan
the so-called Northern Alliance had some fighting men to do the
dirty ground job; the fickleness of some small Afghan tribes also
helped the Americans there. Here in Iraq there is no such
alternative. The Governing Council has no support among the Iraqis,
so it is more a liability than asset. In the past few months it has
not been able to endear itself to the Iraqis, and there is no
visible sign to encourage develop a feeling that they would win the
minds and hearts of the people in the coming seven months. This,
then, means the Americans would try to rope in the elements of the
old regime and make them join hands with the Governing Council. But
easier said than done. Any such attempt will only intensify the
power struggle leading even to bloody clashes, and perhaps pushing
Iraq to division and dismemberment which ultimately will destabilize
the region.
The
best course for the Americans is to go back to the UN and hand over
the Iraqi administration to them. The UN, then, should send a
multinational force to maintain public peace and supervise over a
free and fair election. The elections may be held on party lines,
but it should be made clear to all that whosoever wins, there must
emerge a consensus national government in Baghdad. This is essential
for maintaining the unity and integrity of Iraq and putting the
country once again on road to progress and development.
The
old Iraqi leadership, the Bathists, the Islamists and all others
must realize that the era of absolute power is over. They must try
to usher in a new era of democracy, mutual tolerance and respect. It
is important to tolerate and accommodate as many views as possible,
for only this way the entire energy and resources of the country
will be pressed into service to reconstruct Iraq that the wars,
sanctions and this brutal American invasion have destroyed so badly.
One hopes the difficulties have specially made the old Bathists
wiser, and now they would be ready to help form a national
government to serve their people. The people who suffered during the
old Bathist regime would also be required to behave wisely, and
instead of thinking to take revenge, they must adopt the policy of
“forget and forgive”. The Arab polity unfortunately has never
been like this, as absolutism and dictatorships are the norms there.
The Iraqis have the unique historic opportunity today to disprove
and dispel the bad image of the Arabs that they know no other system
of governance than authoritarianism. This indeed was neither their
culture before Islam, nor this great religion has taught them
anything of this kind.
Today
the Iraqi people are on the crossroad of history. Their resistance
against American imperialism seems to be on the verge of a grand
success. It is widely believed that nothing succeeds like success.
But often it has also been seen that nothing fails like success.
This indeed is the greatest danger, and herein lies the taste of the
Iraqi people and their leaders of whatever colours they are.
(The
author teaches Islamic Studies at Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi)