Posted on 03/30/2003 7:30:06 PM PST by gaucho
Saddam may go down in history as the last hero of the Arab world and be remembered as the only Arab leader who stood against American intervention in the Middle-East, writes WAZIR JAHAN KARIM
ON the eighth day of Operation Freedom I listened to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell's meeting with members of the home security office on the reconstruction of Iraq live on TV. He said he was confident the war would be over soon, that Operation Freedom would end with a post-Saddam democratic government, humanitarian aid and a prosperous economy.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair flew into Washington to meet President George W. Bush on the same subject, to involve the United Nations directly in reconstruction, Iraq's future governance and economy, not just humanitarian aid.
If he is successful, his promises to distressed Britons who oppose the war will be met; a clinical clean-up with precision bombing, a short stay as the liberators of the oppressed, Iraqis dancing on the streets handing flowers and sweets to the liberators and the coalition troops grinning broadly handing out chocolates to ragged children.
At the meeting, Republican Martin Sabo from Minnesota was concerned about Iraq's oil revenues, whether it would also be used to cover the costs of the war so far been estimated at US$75 billion, but which will cost the United States between US$12mil-lion and US$48 billion a year if it is involved in long-term reconstruction.
Powell assured them Iraq's oil revenues was for the Iraqi people and he did not envisage a situation when America would use it to pay for the war. He said 20 years ago, the Iraqis enjoyed a GDP equivalent to the rich economies of Western Europe. Now they are receiving food as charity. It was ironic he failed to mention this was just 12 years ago, manifested in the aftermath of the Gulf War and Operation Desert Storm and the continued imposition of economic sanctions upon the people of Iraq. Repeated proposals to lift these sanctions were vetoed by the US. The Unicef and other international bodies estimate that since the Gulf War, about a million Iraqi children have died. Thousands of Iraqi youths have given up on tertiary education, despondent about employment prospects for life has become cheap and worthless, and like the younger generation Palestinians, some now look forward to a spiritual end, for to win recognition in death, to die for the honour of Iraq is better than to drift into the lower depths of misery. Iraqi men in Amman, Jordan who fled the Gulf War in 1991 and again recently in January 2003 in anticipation of the present war, said they wished to return to fight for the honour of Iraq but not for Saddam. They will join the Fedayeen, originally assembled by Saddam but now taking on an independent life in the last desperate attempt to remove Iraq of American presence.
The people of Baghdad and other cities have not fled into the refugee camps con-structed at the border of Jordan. These must be the only camps in the world devoid of Muslim refugees. They fear a Palestinian happening, that if they leave, their lands will be seized. It seems the fear of America is now greater than the fear of Saddam. Indeed, Saddam may go down in history as the last hero of the Arab world and be remembered as the only Arab leader who stood against American intervention in the Middle East.
The main argument against the invasion of Iraq is the fear that a new generation of freedom fighters will rise to unite against American intrusions in the Middle East. Related to this is the fear that this will generate more hatred for America and make innocent American civilians a target of terrorism.
How can we learn to like or trust America again? Is diplomacy in peril? Can we establish peace and prosperity in the world through alternative views which may want to challenge American foreign policy? Free nations develop their own national economic policies, political alliances or socio-cultural values but the threat of pre-emptive strikes may change the path of local histories.
But what if the the war in Iraq, seen as an invasion by most peace-loving people, causes the Fedayeen to rise against the American presence, after its liberation? Will the be labelled as a terrorist group like Al-Qaeda and Abu Sayyaf? What if Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims fight it out, as is already happening, and the coalition redraws the boundaries of Iraq to protect the Shi'ite Kurds in the north and at Basra in the south? This will shift the northern oil fields into Kurdish hands. Would not Turkey then be provoked to establish control over northern Iraq and, ultimately, the oilfields? Kurdish minorities in southern Turkey would want to be part of this newfound freedom and wealth, leaving Turkey with a potential civil war justifying military intervention. Iraq would be positively ringed by hostile neighbours, legitimising a longer American military presence.
Will this be a war without an end? As the world watches America and the coalition of the willing draw their roadmap for the Middle East, a rising evangelical voice in America awaits Iraq's newly-found freedom ? freedom of religion, for Iraqis to choose whom they should serve. The Daystar television network which airs in 74 countries live, from the United States to North Africa since the war began, announced the coming of a newly found freedom among the people of Iraq.
One caller said, "We see the Bible prophecy unfold in front of our eyes." Another said, "This is about Islam." It seems that in the United States another ideological meaning to the words freedom and liberation is taking shape, the embrace of Christianity. There are five evangelical television networks on cable with others buying time in local and national networks.
Towards the evening many channels air spiritual songs or recite quotations from the Old and New Testaments. It is hard to estimate the total number of viewers but since most of them air live sermons and services, the audience must be in the millions in America alone. All these networks call on Americans to pray for President Bush, for he is a "Godly man", pray for the troops and pray for the Iraqi people.
To reflect, Iraqis, whether Christian or Muslim now need all the help they can get and since they are fighting this war alone with no help from any other nation, these prayers will be much needed. However, in these networks, if Bush is godly, Powell has become Gabriel, and his believers await the deliverance with bated breath. Hopefully, he can deliver Iraqis from evil and show them the shining light of truth.
nThe writer holds the Andrews Chair in Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. She is currently conducting research on Global Civil Societies and is writing a book, Islam and America: A Wartime Story. Dateline: March 29
The sanctions he refers to are UN sanctions conditional toward the removal of WMD. Perhaps this moron should get his facts straight before pointing fingers. I wish news outlets, even leftist outlets, would argue their point with facts instead of their transparent agenda.
You'd think presumable Moslems could get their facts a little straighter than this. The Kurds are Sunni. Their disagreements with Saddam are based in ethnicity, not religion.
When is the last time the Baptist and Methodists duked it out?
The last time the Protestants and the Cathilics went to war?
How about the last time the Orthodox Jews went to war with Reform Jews?
Today?
Northern Ireland.
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