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More than ever, Iraqi nation must succeed

January 29, 2006

That the United States must succeed soon in its efforts to foster a stable democracy in Iraq has become even more apparent with danger increasing throughout the Middle East in recent weeks.

First, Iran's aggressive refusal to accede to international pressure to disband its nuclear program, has left the United States and its European allies, along with China and Russia, in a precarious position.

The Iranians began transferring currency reserved from European banks in the event that the U.N. Security Council decides to order a freeze on Iran's foreign assets. And Iran has threatened not to sell its oil in the event that the Security Council imposes economic sanctions over the nuclear issue.

And the thought of Iran in possession of nuclear weapons should give even the most die-hard opponent of the U.S. presence in Iraq night sweats.

The Islamic republic has been an enemy of the United States since the darkest days of the Carter administration, and the Islamic revolution in which U.S. Embassy staff were held hostage for 444 days. Now Iran's hardline president has asserted that Israel should be removed from the map of the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Israel -- which once destroyed an Iraq nuclear facility on its own -- must look on with deepening anxiety about the growing military threat Iran poses.

The stakes got higher still this week with the victory of the militant Hamas party in Palestinian elections. Like Iran with which it has ties, Hamas favors the destruction of Israel, either politically or militarily, and has been a prime mover in the Intifada uprising that led to Israel's decision to turn over parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority. Long linked to suicide bombings and other terrorist acts against Israel, Hamas is opposed to peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

While some of the roughly 78 percent of Palestinians who participated in legislative elections last week no doubt were voting not so much for Hamas as against the corrupt and ineffective policies and leadership of the Fatah party -- which was founded by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat -- there can be no doubt that the situation between Israel and her neighbors just grew much more complicated and dangerous.

Complicating it all is the power vacuum and uncertainty within Israel since the debilitating stroke suffered by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Israel's political and military strength is central to peace in the region, and her enemies now perceive that Israel is weaker than it was just a few months ago.

Finally, the increasingly deadly insurgency within Iraq has served as a magnet for thousands of militants who are eager to throw the United States and the western powers out of the Middle East -- and perhaps to establish another radical Islamic government in the region.

Should Iraq fall into utter disorder and civil war, it is not hard to imagine a nuclear-armed Iran becoming directly engaged and perhaps drawing Israel and others into an expanded conflict fought over the region's critical oil fields. If that were to occur, our stay in the region would last a lot longer and get a lot more dangerous at a financial cost we cannot imagine.

The new Iraqi government must not be allowed to fail, or the world will bear the consequences.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-06/01-29-06/b02op674.htm