Good luck to Iraq

SOMETIME this week, the United States occupying forces in Iraq will formally hand over “sovereignty” to an interim government, but the road to peace, stability and a viable democracy in that war-torn country still seems a long way to travel. Indeed, the idea of the American military conferring “sovereignty” on a Middle East state they destroyed in an illegal pre-emtive invasion seems somewhat ludicrous, but there can now be no other course if Iraq is ever to recover from that disastrous attack more than a year ago. For the sake of the Iraqi people who have suffered thousands of deaths, widespread mutilation and severe deprivation as a result of that unwarranted attack, we feel sure that the world community, even those countries and people who strongly opposed the so-called war, would want to see peace and good order established firmly in that unfortunate land.

The problem is that the “sovereignty” which the Iranians are expected to receive in the next few days may be little more than a delusion since efforts to rebuild a system of civil security are being seriously undermined by random attacks and suicide bombings. Violence is still rampant in many parts of the country, with insurgents and remnants of Saddam’s supporters engaging in terrorist activity with virtual impunity. And militias loyal to certain Islamic clerics are fighting pitched battles with US occupying troops. The continuing horror of Iraq is simply the bitter fruit of George Bush’s idiotic and precipitate invasion of a country which presented no threat whatever to the US or any other country. While he rushed to destroy Iraq on the false pretext that its dictator possessed weapons of mass destruction and had links with bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terrorists, he, together with his White House and Pentagon warmongers, had no strategy whatever for administering the country after they had devastated it.

Unable to deal with the chaos that ensued, and having given the terrorists an open arena for slaughtering American troops, they are now not only anxious to clear out but are earnesly soliciting the assistance of the UN and other countries after contemptuously dismissing UN and world-wide opposition to their ill-conceived invasion. While our hearts go out to the Iraqi people, we are doubtful whether the “sovereignty” their interim government will soon assume would make any difference, at least in the near future.The invasion and resultant agony of their country has only served to increase the bitterness and hatred among radical elements of the Islamic world for the United States and, it seems to us, the violence and instability will continue as long as there is a US presence or a perception of continuing US influence in Iraq’s affairs.

The abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, with the suspicion that it resulted from US policy after the September 11 bombing, has also served to fuel this hatred. It is likely to take a long time, several years perhaps, for Iraq to fully recover from the disaster of George Bush’s war; the country itself is divided among several different groups harbouring traditional suspicions and with some having aspirations of hegemony or self government. In this context the process of achieving a viable democracy will be a serious challenge. Inspite of George Bush, the world would wish them well.