Toppling the tyrant
US President George W Bush defied the whole world and declared war against Iraq, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington
By the time Al-Ahram Weekly goes to press, more than 3,000 heavy bombs and missiles could be raining on the densely populated Iraqi capital of Baghdad, signalling the beginning of the US campaign of "shock and awe" to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
In an address to Americans on Monday, United States President George Bush gave Hussein and his two sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or face military conflict. With nearly no possibility that the Iraqi leader will accept this offer, the US is now poised to launch a war which is unprecedented in modern history; one which is totally unprovoked and lacking the majority support of the international community. Applying for the first time his "preemptive strikes" defence strategy, President Bush will be launching a war against Iraq not because it poses an "imminent" threat to US or world security, but because it might do so in the future. Waiting and watching the Iraqi "threat" growing without acting, Bush said, was not an option the United States could afford to consider after the 11 September attacks. "We choose to meet that thereat now, where it arises, before it can appear suddenly in our skies and cities," Bush said in his short address, with a clear reference to the Washington and New York terrorist attacks in which 3,000 people were killed.
After reiterating the US case against the Iraqi regime -- how it continues to possess banned weapons of mass destruction, its brutal human rights record, the history of aggression against its neighbours and its alleged links with terrorist organisations, including Al- Qa'eda -- Bush said that his patience had come to an end.
"In recent days, some governments in the Middle East have been doing their part," Bush said. "They have delivered public and private messages urging the dictator to leave Iraq, so that disarmament can proceed peacefully. He has thus far refused. All the decades of deceit and cruelty have now reached an end. Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing."
Bush also asked all foreign nationals, including journalists and inspectors, to leave Iraq immediately.
The countdown towards Bush's declaration to go to war against Iraq snowballed in quick fashion. On Friday, it became clear to the United States that it would not be able to gain the majority of nine votes it needed to pass a second resolution in the Security Council, declaring that Iraq had failed to disarm peacefully and should face the serious consequences stated in an earlier resolution, 1441. President Bush said a week earlier that he would ask for a vote in any case, saying that it was time for each country to show the world where it stood on the issue of Iraq's disarmament. However, after a series of calls to most members of the Security Council, Secretary of State Colin Powell pressed for pulling back the joint American-British-Spanish resolution. He said that launching a war in clear defiance of the will of the Security Council after a failed vote would put the United States in a more difficult position in terms of international legitimacy.
Facing a deadlock on Friday, French President Jacques Chirac suggested a summit meeting for members of the Security Council to find a compromise. However, Bush disregarded the idea, and summoned instead his two allies, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Premier Jose Maria Aznar, to a hastily arranged summit on the Azores Islands. The location of the summit clearly indicated that the three leaders were aware that only an isolated island could save them from massive popular protests opposing the war. The leaders clearly had little to discuss, and after one hour declared that the United Nations had only 24 hours to "live up to its obligations" and authorise the use of force against Iraq as its regime has refused to disarm.
But it took less than 24 hours for White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer to declare that Bush had made up his mind to declare that the only option available to Saddam Hussein was to leave Iraq. A few minutes later, Powell, the only so-called "dove" in the Bush administration, made a similar declaration, stating that the route of diplomacy had reached its end and that it was time for Iraq to face the serious consequences stated in Resolution 1441. After yet another round of telephone calls with world leaders which convinced Bush that he would not get the support he wanted, American officials said it took the US President less than 24 hours to decide to deliver the ultimatum to the Iraqi President. The US and its allies in the Security Council decided to forgo a vote on a second resolution, opting instead to declare a unilateral war with its "coalition of the willing".
Responsibility for the failure to obtain the go-ahead from the Security Council was placed at the feet of France. The early declaration by France to veto any draft resolution to deliver Iraq an ultimatum to disarm, they said, persuaded other Security Council members to retract their support for the US. These countries would not wish to be seen as opposing public opinion in their respective countries, particularly if the American-British-Spanish resolution was going to be vetoed by France anyway. Bush, Cheney and Powell, all dismissed the French proposal to give Iraq a deadline of 30 days to disarm peacefully. This proposal represented a compromise by President Chirac, since France had previously requested a 120- day period for Iraq to be disarmed by inspectors.
In his speech on Monday, Bush promised the Iraqi people that only the regime would be targeted by US forces and that the US would quickly help them rebuild their country and establish a democracy. "As our coalition takes away their power, we will deliver the food and medicine you need. We will tear down the apparatus of terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and free. ... The tyrant will soon be gone. The day of your liberation is near," Bush said.
Most military experts believe that amount of lethal force required to assure a speedy US victory will certainly result in a few thousand Iraqi fatalities. These deaths would be considered "collateral damage" in the US military book.
Bush also warned Iraqi officers to refuse to obey their commanders, and that they would be tried as war criminals if they used chemical or biological weapons against invading troops. He asked them to surrender. "It is too late for Saddam Hussein to remain in power. It is not too late for the Iraqi military to act with honour and protect your country by permitting the peaceful entry of coalition forces to eliminate weapons of mass destruction," Bush said.
He also prepared Americans for possible attacks against US targets inside and outside the United States after the war breaks out, and promised to take all necessary security measures.
"We are a peaceful people. Yet we're not a fragile people. And we will not be intimidated by thugs and killers. If our enemies dare to strike us, they and all who have aided them will face fearful consequences," Bush said.
France, Germany, Russia and China have all agreed to hold an urgent Security Council meeting on the level of foreign ministers on Wednesday to consider the consequences of the US decision to go to war. Secretary Powell indicated he was not sure he would personally take part in that meeting. Instead, that session, most observers believe, will turn into a talk show in which most members of the Security Council would express their deepest regret for the US unilateral behaviour and indifference to the international will as represented by the United Nations.
With this war, the United States will be starting a new chapter in its history as a colonial power, and the Arab world will be witnessing a wave of unpredictable changes, most regional experts believe.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 20 - 26 March 2003 (Issue No. 630)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/630/sc3.htm