By: Tashbih Sayyed
Up until the statue of Saddam Hussein came down tumbling as a result of "Operation Free Iraq," there used to be only one master in Iraq. He was Saddam Hussein. His word was law. The people of Iraq were not free but they knew where they stood. There was no ambiguity about their situation and there was no confusion regarding the authority. Iraqis knew that so long as they submit to the will of Saddam Hussein, they are safe. President George W. Bush changed all that. He wanted to liberate them by removing the master and introducing democracy. He did succeed in toppling the autocrat but failed to introduce democracy. He could not find people with grass roots support to replace the dictator. The enemy did not allow it. The enemy needed a political and power vacuum to convert its defeat into victory. A deliberate chaos was created to make it impossible for the U.S. to establish enough authority to establish order. Suddenly a multi-ethnic and hybrid Iraq that was held together by the iron hand of an absolute tyrant was being pulled apart by numerous centrifugal forces. There was a total vacuum of power.
Baathists, Nationalists, anarchists, Islamists, different ethnic groups and any one else who hated stability and wanted to see the U.S. defeated took full advantage of this vacuum. Claiming to be the champions of the popular causes, these selfish "leaders" started to assert their authority. A central authority was not in their interest. And since the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) had no support at the grass roots level, it posed no threat to these negative forces. IGC had no legitimacy what so ever to even pretend to be the government. The enemy knew that the members of the U.S. appointed IGC were too self centered to be working selflessly for the cause of the democracy. They were incapable of winning the hearts and minds of the street. It lacked legitimacy and it was bound to remain an agency of the foreign occupying powers.
As a result the removal of Saddam Hussein, could not empower the people. It empowered the enemies. Individuals and groups with their own selfish agendas imposed themselves on the people as masters. None of them was a friend of the people. They were power hungry hyenas. They did not want any central authority in place. They ensured that the U.S. did not have the needed authority to establish a just order. People of Iraq, who were looking forward to a future without oppression and exploitation found being hounded by not one, not two or three but by a multitude of groups and "leaders." Iraqis did not know whom to obey. They were a totally confused bunch of souls. In the absence of a legitimate central authority, they had no choice but to listen to who ever could guarantee the security of their life, property and future. Unfortunately neither the coalition partners nor the IGC members were there to provide these guarantees. They found out that their safety depended on following the Baathist remnants, nationalists, clerics, Islamists and Al-Qaeda sympathizers. They had no alternative.
This is the true picture of Iraq today
There is a disorder of the highest order in Iraq. Iraqis find themselves surrounded by masters but no friends. They had learned to live with the tyranny of one person. But find themselves ill prepared to submit to the whims of a pantheon of gods. They had hoped to be liberated by the "Operation Freedom Iraq" but instead find themselves enslaved by many. The absolutist calm of one man's tyranny has been replaced by the terror of many. Each of them is trying to chain them to his or her ideology. Each claiming to be the champion of their cause.
To start with, there are Saddam loyalists, represented by Baathist activists. Then there are former administrators and those whose affluence and prosperity depended on Saddam's rule. They all want them to know that Saddam will be back. They are being told that whoever is found cooperating with the coalition authorities, will be dealt with in the true Baathist traditions.
Then there are nationalists, who want the Iraqis to forget differences and to be Iraqis only and support them against the foreign invaders. Sunnis are afraid that the liberated Iraq will be Shiite dominated. Shiites have their own demons. Some of them are influenced by Khomeini's radical anti-U.S. rhetoric. Some of them find it difficult to forget how Americans had abandoned them to the armies of Saddam in the aftermath of desert Storm. And quite a few of them are controlled by ultra-radical clerics, who have their personal aggrandizement more dear than the greater national interest. And none of them want to be seen collaborating with the foreign "invaders."
One thing that seems to be common in all these factions is the influence of anti-Semitism of radical Islam. Al-Qaeda ideology, Al-Ansar philosophy and Jamaat Islami's anti-West jihadism is visibly directing and controlling all these different currents in various degrees. The protagonists of a universal Islamic state burning with a desire to avenge the defeat of Khilafah are determined that the last stand against the Judeo-Christian-Hindu civilization has to be taken here in the land of Nebuchadnezzar. Baathist, Nationalists, Islamists and Pan-Arabists have for the time being postponed their long term plans and have joined hands in the short term objective of defeating the Judeo-Christian Hubal. The whole Iraqi population is divided among these various factions and power brokers.
Under these oppressive circumstances, a common Iraqi, whether he agrees with this radical religiso-social-nationalist agenda or not will have no choice but to go along with it. He has no choice. Even the U.S. that promised to liberate them is preparing to run. The daily declarations that U.S. will be handing over authority to Iraqis only confirms the talk in the bazaar. It strengthens the hands of the enemies. The ever increasing number of attacks on coalition forces, the rising U.S. casualties and the storm of anti-war statements, processions and demonstration in the U.S. Europe and else where leaves little doubt in the mind of a common Iraqi that the coalition is losing. The history is on the side of the enemies. The U.S. does not have what it takes to overwhelm the green giant. It will leave as it left Lebanon and Somalia.
I cannot see a possibility of an Iraqization of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" under the prevailing circumstances. There are voices who think that if the U.S. hands over political authority to the Iraqis and moves out into the desert, calm will return and the interests of the free world will be secured. I do not agree with such a scenario. Whether the U.S. stays in sight or out of sight, the enemy will always make it certain that its presence remains a reality. And whomever the U.S. will transfer the power to, will always be perceived as the front for the invisible occupiers. The insurgency will continue and the chaos will persist. The people will remain in a perpetual state of persecution just like the Palestinian refugees. A deprived and persecuted population will be made to believe that the U.S. is responsible for their destitution. A new breeding ground for future homicide bombers will come into being.
The perception is more powerful than reality. And today, the perception in the Muslim world is, that the U.S. has lost the war in Iraq. The anti-war voices in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere have convinced the Iraqi street that Saddam will be back. That's why, it is very difficult for any Iraqi to side with a losing party. This is a matter of survival for them. Under these circumstances, how can they allow themselves to be seen defying the resistance.
Can Washington correct this perception? Not until it corrects her own perception about the realities as they exist on the ground in the Muslim world. Iraq is part of the Muslim world. And the reality is that the Muslim world has no idea of the true U.S. intentions. Their perception of the U.S. is based on the information supplied to them by the enemies. They only know what they have been told by Baathists, nationalists, Islamists, anti-Semitic, left, liberal, anti-colonialists and Al-Qaeda die-hards. Another basis of their perception is their experience with their U.S. imposed, U.S. supported and U.S. endorsed rulers. All of these rulers have been corrupt and plunderers. Because of them, all of the Muslim masses live in a very sorry condition. They are convinced that the U.S. does not want their welfare. So how can they see any good in any U.S. mission. The war against terrorism cannot be won without winning the war of perceptions. And as far as the Muslim world is concerned, the U.S. is perceived as a "Great Satan" not a "great liberator."
The U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq has finally provided the U.S. a chance to correct this negative perception of herself. I believe that the U.S. cannot leave Iraq without fixing the wrong. It has to Finnish what it has started. Without delivering what it promised to deliver, the U.S. will never be able to convince the Islamist controlled world that it is their friend. It will always remain a "Great Satan."
As far as I am concerned, there is only one way for the U.S. to correct this perception. It has to stay in Iraq long enough to deliver, justice, fairplay, stability, prosperity and peace. Only the positive and people friendly results of U.S. presence in Iraq will silence the enemy. I am convinced that if the U.S. succeeds in establishing a just and democratic order in Iraq, this perception of the U.S. being a "Great Satan" will be corrected for good. The civilized world has to realize that if the radical Islam is determined to make its final stand in Iraq, the free world will also have to make this the final front.
(The writer is editor-in-chief of Pakistan Today, a California-based weekly newspaper, president of Council for Democracy and Tolerance and adjunct fellow of Hudson Institute.)
