Iraqis 'Unprepared for Departure of Americans Troops'
Published in Azzaman
(Iraq) on 13 September 2006
by Fatih Abdulsalam (link to original)
Almost all Iraqi groups think they are strong. But they don’t draw this strength from the State or Iraqis as a nation.
Everyone would have been pleased if these groups that are now so active in Iraqi politics had derived their strength from the trust that the Iraqi people have in them. Unfortunately, their influence is derived from other quarters.
Some of these groups base their influence on the military power of the militias they control. Some groups promise that their armed men are capable of plunging the entire country into chaos, as if the country wasn't already being torn to pieces.
Other such groups assert that they are capable of laying siege to Baghdad and slicing into pieces according to their liking, as though the capital were a piece of cake.
There are groups who say their militias, which were acquired illegally in the absence of a strong government, have the power to halt oil production and exports, and direct oil export revenues to their own coffers.
A number of groups - and we would like the reader to forgive us for not mentioning any names for reasons known to anyone monitoring Iraqi affairs [fear of reprisal] – claim that Iraq's fragile government structure depends solely on their presence. If they withdraw, they allege, the foundation upon which the Iraqi administration is built would crumble.
While all these groups are unembarrassed about propagating such claims, they forget that in reality, they are all ultimately quite weak. Whether inside or outside the government, all of these groups should thank the American troops now occupying the country; first for their very existence; and second for their very survival.
The leaders of these groups, many of whom now occupy prominent positions in the government, are very shortsighted. The reason for their shortsightedness is that they haven't prepared themselves and the country for the possible departure of U.S. troops.
These groups must understand that Iraq has insulted and humiliated the U.S., and the mightiest military power in the world and its leaders are looking for a way out.
When foreign troops depart and the arena is left entirely to these groups - that will be Iraq's Day of Judgment. That will be the time to sit down and investigate the calamities that have befallen the Iraqi people.
The precious pools of innocent blood that have been shed in the years since the American occupation have to be addressed. In the name of that blood, all true and honorable Iraqis will strive to find who is responsible for the spilling of this blood, who bombed the villages, towns and cities, who murdered the women and children, who committed all of these atrocities and who stole the oil revenue.
That Day of Judgment is inevitable. And on that particular day, global authorities including those in the United States will hunt down these new criminals, liars and despots who have built their strength on the torture of the Iraqi people.
Everyone would have been pleased if these groups that are now so active in Iraqi politics had derived their strength from the trust that the Iraqi people have in them. Unfortunately, their influence is derived from other quarters.
Some of these groups base their influence on the military power of the militias they control. Some groups promise that their armed men are capable of plunging the entire country into chaos, as if the country wasn't already being torn to pieces.
Other such groups assert that they are capable of laying siege to Baghdad and slicing into pieces according to their liking, as though the capital were a piece of cake.
There are groups who say their militias, which were acquired illegally in the absence of a strong government, have the power to halt oil production and exports, and direct oil export revenues to their own coffers.
A number of groups - and we would like the reader to forgive us for not mentioning any names for reasons known to anyone monitoring Iraqi affairs [fear of reprisal] – claim that Iraq's fragile government structure depends solely on their presence. If they withdraw, they allege, the foundation upon which the Iraqi administration is built would crumble.
While all these groups are unembarrassed about propagating such claims, they forget that in reality, they are all ultimately quite weak. Whether inside or outside the government, all of these groups should thank the American troops now occupying the country; first for their very existence; and second for their very survival.
The leaders of these groups, many of whom now occupy prominent positions in the government, are very shortsighted. The reason for their shortsightedness is that they haven't prepared themselves and the country for the possible departure of U.S. troops.
These groups must understand that Iraq has insulted and humiliated the U.S., and the mightiest military power in the world and its leaders are looking for a way out.
When foreign troops depart and the arena is left entirely to these groups - that will be Iraq's Day of Judgment. That will be the time to sit down and investigate the calamities that have befallen the Iraqi people.
The precious pools of innocent blood that have been shed in the years since the American occupation have to be addressed. In the name of that blood, all true and honorable Iraqis will strive to find who is responsible for the spilling of this blood, who bombed the villages, towns and cities, who murdered the women and children, who committed all of these atrocities and who stole the oil revenue.
That Day of Judgment is inevitable. And on that particular day, global authorities including those in the United States will hunt down these new criminals, liars and despots who have built their strength on the torture of the Iraqi people.