USA’s occupation of Iraq abuse of power

BY Dr. Abdillahi Alawy

From Al-Ambar province to Geneva and Washington, word is out that the humanitarian situation in Iraq is increasingly worsening. And, this could be the right time for the rest of the world to step-in for a unitary voice to demand quick action that will end the turmoil. As the American occupation of Iraq marked its fourth year, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported last Tuesday that Iraq is slowly becoming the worst humanitarian tragedy this generation has witnessed.

The never ending conflicts have caused immense suffering for the entire citizenry in and outside of this country. This week alone, major protests were seen in Iraq and here in Washington where the common denominator for these voices is for the American occupation to end and a return of normalcy to this oil rich country.
The suffering has reached incredible levels that can only be compared to a new holocaust that is perpetrated by all of us who have chosen not to intervene, and mainly by the United States for continuing to occupy an Islamic country in a new century that is marked with renewed religious tensions and animosity.

And, for the USA to be behind such a massive wave of human suffering in Iraq--it is just the most contradictory show of democracy and the ultimate abuse of power. The belief that America is the beacon of freedom and peace has now become a myth of sadness for all of us who care to think of Iraq for a minute.

In Iraq, all the important institutions are disintegrating to a level of permanent dysfunctional state of hopelessness. In many parts of the country, there are no hospitals, police, schools, or a fall-back mechanism of social infrastructure. The billions of dollars that have been poured in have not been helpful to the Iraqi or American economies. The injured are afraid of going to the hospital and the doctors are afraid to go to the hospital for fear of getting kidnapped or killed.
“The situation in Iraq is dire,” said Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the new Commander of United States forces in Iraq during his confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee this January. From a military general of Petraeus status to the street hawkers of Falluja, Iraq, there is no sugar-coating when it comes to describing this situation…Iraq is at the end of the road. Surprisingly, America’s open ended occupation continues and troops’ levels are going up. It is an open secret here in Washington that even for some staunchest Republican Party fanatics are agreeing that this one (Iraq war) has been lost.

A bipartisan group assembled by President George Bush last year studied Iraq and produced the famously known Iraq Study Group Report. In this report, the renowned American leaders did not mince words when they called the Iraq situation as “grave and deteriorating.” Contrary to what the White House is planning to do, this report clearly wanted troops’ levels to be systematically reduced. In other words, all the honest analysis of this war and the alarming situation in Iraq believe that it is time for the Americans to get out of Iraq.

Yet, the US administration argues that if they leave Iraq at this time, the situation will worsen not only for the Iraqis but the whole region will become a hotbed of civil-wars and a centre of terrorism. As a neighbour with a lot at stake, Saudi Arabia’s monarchy is totally unsure of what they want the US to do. At one time they threatened to throw their support behind the victimised Sunnis if Americans ever left Iraq. However, two weeks ago the Saudi King openly condemned the US occupation of Iraq.
The truth is that no one really knows what to do. Still, the American occupation of Iraq has reached a point of saturation where all laws of diminishing returns rule. It is not profitable; it is not common-sense. It is not even helpful to have over 140,000 Yankee soldiers in between a religious and ethnic strife that does not seem to be improving even after publicly hanging the hated dictator, Saddam Hussein.

It is important to point out that the ethnic and religious strife in Iraq has been there for generations and generations before even Saddam Hussein came on the scene. The extraordinary and permanent hatred and tensions between the Shia’s and Sunnis is a permanent fixture in the lives of Iraqis. Whether the American troops leave now or in the next twenty years, is not going to change anything in this catastrophic situation in Iraq today. But it is the opinion of many that the earlier the better and time is now for the Americans to return to their country.
However, things could change for the better if some bold actions are taken immediately. It is time to redeploy American troops back to the US for example.. And re-focus attention on how to return Iraqis’ life and their institutions back to normal. For Americans it is important to come off the high moral horse and start talking to Iraq neighbours in an honest and open way of helping this country get its bearings for peace and calm. For example, America cannot isolate Syria and Iran if they want genuine solution to the Iraq dilemma.
But the bigger responsibility of intervention is always going to rest on the shoulder of the rest of the world, “us” rather than the US. It is not a good thing to let go of situations like these continue at the call of irresponsible leaders of the world.

The world citizens must have a role to play in supporting the protesters in Baghdad and Washington in order to make their wishes recognised and acted upon. We can not pretend not to have seen the Rwanda genocide and massacre, and we let that one go. We can’t say we don’t really see what’s going on in Darfur or the disintegrating provinces of Iraq. It is wrong to keep quite and pretend that what is happening in Falluja or Musul Iraq has no effect on you or your life.
aalawy@gmail.com