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An Uncontrolled Country
Abdulwahab Badrakhan Al-Hayat 2003/11/29
Would the former Iraqi president really declare from his hideout that the American president landed in Baghdad to join his troops for the Thanksgiving meal? Usually, a satellite TV network broadcasts a voice recording of Saddam Hussein's. American specialists are careful to doubt that it is actually his voice. Later, they are careful to issue their judgement that it is real, thereby giving it a certificate of authenticity. Had "governor" Paul Bremer and General Sanchez not appeared, it would have been possible to doubt that George Bush was actually in Baghdad. Especially that the TV recordings did not show any Iraqi personalities, despite the fact that some had attended the occasion.
Total secrecy. Landing in the dark. Misleading (of which is calling Bremer to Washington). Even the speech that Bush delivered, certify that American "victory" is pale. The president and his troops were in need of such an event to exchange morale boosting. What is important to Bush is that this image, for which he undertook the agony of the trip, is going to be beneficial in the elections campaign. But as soon as the festivities were over and Air Force One took off, everyone, including the president, was back to face reality, with all its surprises and annoyances.
No doubt that the administration's American were satisfied, even for moments from the Arab TV networks, which highlighted the event. The story imposed itself, especially that its hero is the president of the superpower. He had to resort to a smokescreen scenario to get to a capital that his forces occupied seven months earlier with astonishing ease. Since then Bush's visit was excepted, even almost certain in June when he visited Sharm El-Sheikh, Aqaba and Doha. However, he went back home because security officials advised him not to take the risk.
The visit was a political and media necessity. That is why Bush went along with it, knowing that the risks had risen. If the situation did not improve, it is because the occupation administration committed mistakes, or because the hidden agenda hindered its activity. This administration failed to overcome the first impressions and was unsuccessful in spreading new facts and emotions, which not only helps Iraqis, but Americans as well in overcoming the shock. If no one is disillusioned anymore, this is an occupation power that acts like one with its collaborators and resistors. Thus, the image of the "American liberator" has faded and caution and doubt spread against collaborators and resistors alike.
President Bush went to Baghdad at a time when his assistants are trying to find exits out of it. Although he still reiterates the story of democracy, some in his administration still say that the promised democracy in Iraq would be a model for the rest of the region; seekers of solutions for the current troubles are always hit with the reality that the facts in Iraq are beyond them. Even when they find solutions, they are hit with the fact that the American style in implementation shuns reality. There is much obsolete ideology in this administration's performance, which hinders all known American pragmatism. When pragmatism is employed to serve ideology, frivolity and sabotage become easy. Therefore, there are some in the United States who speak of dividing Iraq; not as a solution to a governing problem, which seems difficult, but as a treatment to the American predicament itself. The objective is not to create a democratic regime in a unified Iraq, land and people, but a guarantee of permanent control over the country, by any means necessary.
Perhaps the biggest failure of the Iraqi transitional ruling council is the fact that it has not become a fusion of the people's elements. It has proven to be a meeting place to confirm and deepen differences to an extent that the Americans would seem not liable should they deal with it. This council should have been a haven for political unity that could be counted on to reestablish the unified state. Bush did not explicitly say, "we are here and we are staying," but the behavior of the Iraqi collaborators seems like a clear message for the Americans to stay. Alas, Iraq today looks like an uncontrolled country, where no one in it wants to bear the responsibility of it remaining for its own people.
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