War news
By
Naguib mahfouz
Now that the American war on Iraq has entered its fourth week, an interesting observation is possible: American forces went to Iraq thinking they would return victorious within days; and yet it has already taken so long, and the Americans are still trying to take control of the conflict.
This is the war's most important development to date: Iraq's courageous resistance, which has already surprised invaders, stopping them in their tracks, will also have far-reaching implications for the post-war phases of the American plan. To establish American-led rule in Iraq will be no easy matter, and the resistance that has emerged during the war will acquire added weight after the military campaign is over.
US ambitions to dominate the world have received a similar blow -- the resistance, and the almost universal stance by the international public against the war, has undermined Washington's position over the last three weeks. America has lost its credibility, and part of a great power's status is its trustworthiness. Four weeks into the war, said credibility has been irrevocably shaken.
The war may indeed end with the victory of Washington's military machine -- the power of which is said to be completely unprecedented -- but the resistance that has emerged in the way of that victory has undermined not only such claims of power but the very future of the USA.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
