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.
[November, 2003]
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