A just future for Iraq
Iraq must remain united and free once the guns fall silent. Taha Abdel-Alim calls for Arab action
It finally happened. The US military machine has set off to engage Iraq in a battle that is illegitimate and one-sided. Washington has moved in to disarm a country rent apart by years of sanctions and largely robbed of its sovereignty. The assault, conducted with sophisticated firepower, went ahead despite protest from across the globe. But public anger proved incapable of reining in the arrogance of power.
The Arabs, meanwhile, are choking on their sense of powerlessness, but they should not let frustration cloud their judgement. A thorough analysis of the current debacle by Arab intellectuals may help avert similar occurrences in the future. Arab leaders, too, should start looking ahead while learning from the past.
The US's motives are all too obvious. Iraq does not represent a clear and present danger to the United States, and the latter has failed to win support from the UN Security Council for military action against the Gulf country. Peace efforts have gone unheeded, because US decision makers, in the thrall of a virulent right-wing ideology, opted for war -- one that even some US allies describe as unjust. Nations across the world, and individuals, Christian and Muslim alike, rejected US arguments and condemned the war.
The Iraqi regime, of course, has much to answer for. Its hunger for power and for control of the Gulf region have paved the way for the current crisis. Tehran has, for the most part, buried the memory of the Iraq-Iran war. The Arabs have largely been willing to forgive Saddam for the invasion of Kuwait. Yet, the Iraqi president, still clinging to delusions of victory in the Gulf War of 1991, has failed to make any credible effort to alleviate the grievances he had caused. Saddam has been unsuccessful, as President Mubarak recently said, in restoring the confidence of his neighbours, dissipating the fears of international community, and debunking the US's pretexts a war. He had 12 years to make things right, but failed to do so.
The simmering anger of Arab masses will not stop the bombing of Baghdad, and the rhetoric of Arab leaders will not rescue Iraqis from the uncertain future that awaits them.
But the Arabs can call for UN action. They can call for a resolution -- by either the Security Council or the General Assembly -- stating the need to respect international humanitarian law, provide relief for the Iraqi people, and declare an immediate cease-fire. The Arabs can also support the call made by UAE's Sheikh Zayed for the UN and the Arab League to create an interim administration in Iraq, in order to help rebuild the country in a unified and democratic fashion.
Iraq should be allowed to live in freedom, democracy, dignity and peace. Action is needed to ensure that, once the guns are silent, the Iraqis will have the future they deserve.
* The writer is deputy director of the Al- Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 27 March - 2 April 2003 (Issue No. 631)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/631/op8.htm