Giving despots hope

By Amr El-Choubaki

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US casualties are mounting in Iraq, just as Shias, led by the likes of Muqtada Al-Sadr, become actively defiant. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The US has failed in Iraq on more than one front. It promised to create a democracy in that country, a system for other Arabs to copy. In fact, it has given hope for all despots across the region.

It all started with Washington's reliance on an assortment of suspect allies and collaborators to do its bidding in the new Iraq. For the majority of Iraqis, the choices made by the Americans were not much better than those made by the ousted regime. Washington wanted to have a custom-made Governing Council, a specially fitted Iraqi elite, a pre-conceived system to serve its own purposes.

The US could have rallied Iraq's vibrant forces behind a solid plan for creating a new and free Iraq. It could have integrated the lower and middle cadres of the Baath Party and made them part of the country's future. It didn't. It excluded too many Iraqis from the political game, preferring to rely on the few it trusted, some of whom were on its payroll. Political forces with real grassroots were left out in the cold and they grew restless. Just as they resisted the old regime, they are now suspicious of the new master.

Resistance in Iraq is not just related to the fact that the US killed hundreds of civilians or tortured prisoners. The US has failed because its political vision is impaired. When you exclude the active political forces in the country, when you fail to lead and inspire, when you rely too much on your own hirelings, this happens.

This week's Soapbox speaker is a researcher at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.