IRAQ: TOWARD AN HONORABLE EXIT
INTRODUCTION
As the cakewalk turns to quagmire, Americans are looking for the exit sign. While Democrats and Republicans denounce each other's war stance, ironically, both urge us to "stay the course"! Others call for a fast exit. Unfortunately neither approach holds much promise to turn this debacle into a constructive, learning experience and to start the process of healing, both in the US and in Iraq.
This paper briefly retraces how we were led to this debacle. It outlines the moral and legal obligations the US and the international community have toward the people of Iraq. It sets out a vision for the future of Iraq and suggests practical steps which need to be taken to achieve an honorable exit from this untenable situation.
HOW DID WE GET WHERE WE ARE?
There has been an unprecedented flood of exposes of the hubris, arrogance and ignorance which has stranded us in Iraq. The various justifications for twelve years of sanctions, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, fall into three categories:
1. Official justifications: Primarily, Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and his links to terrorism. The falsehood of these claims has been demonstrated, but even if they were true, it is highly questionable that war would have been the appropriate response. Enforcement mechanisms were actually in place and doing an effective job.
2. Fall-back justifications: Whenever confronted with the falsehood of their stated cause for war, its architects quickly fall back on other pretexts:
- The historical misconduct of Saddam's regime in wars with Iran and Kuwait. - The need for democratic change in both Iraq and the rest of the Middle East.
Can one imagine the state of the world, if these were to become universally accepted reasons for invasion and occupation?3. Unstated, and most likely, the real motives for occupying Iraq:
- Control over Iraq's oil - Corporate profiteering - Iraq's strategic location in a wider hegemonic scheme - The secure knowledge that Iraq, a blockaded, devastated country, had no WMDs and that invading it would indeed be a "cakewalk" - Last but by no means least, enhancing Israel's posture in the region These motives are all patently contrary to the rule of law in a Postcolonial world. Each of them is also a two-ton elephant energetically ignored by the corporate media and its talking heads.
Recognition of the less than noble motives behind the occupation of Iraq means that we have moral and legal obligations to help the people of Iraq recover from the physical, and social devastation which has been visited upon them. Enlightened self interest, if nothing else, should impel us not to abandon them to deep resentment and regional instability.
WHAT ARE THE US OBLIGATIONS?
The systematic destruction of Iraq's civilian infrastructure in the first Gulf War, went far beyond what might have been necessary to end Iraq's occupation of Kuwait, and was a clear violation of the Geneva conventions regarding the destruction of primarily civilian installations. Thereafter, for twelve years, the US and the UK insisted on maintaining a pitiless sanctions regime on Iraq, coupled with almost daily bombing. Gruesome reports of civilian privations and infant mortality were disregarded. These reached the point that some Iraqis actually welcomed the "Shock and Awe" campaign of 2003, as a possible way to end their misery. They were to be disappointed.
Through World War II, the US had enjoyed a benign image in the Middle East, as a champion of human rights, unencumbered by European colonialism. Since then, that reservoir of goodwill has been depleted by cold war policies and increasing US identification with Israel. Somehow, peoples of the Middle East still differentiate between the American people and the policies of their government. It may yet be possible to salvage some of that goodwill with a series of confidence restoring measures. In the case of Iraq, a public acceptance by the US of the following obligations will go a long way toward restoring US image:
* To help Iraq rebuild civilian infrastructure destroyed in two wars and twelve years of sanctions.
* To clean up toxic and radioactive contamination from extensive use of Depleted Uranium (DU) munitions by US forces. Victims of these weapons, Iraqi and American, need help. Independent research findings on the environmental and health effects of DU, should be made public, with a view to banning its military use worldwide.
* To assist in restoring cultural treasures which were looted or burned during the anarchy that followed the invasion. Educational and training programs should be provided to those whose lives have been wrecked by the wars and sanctions.
* And finally, US obligation to withdraw all US armed forces from Iraq.
It will take more than one generation and a lot of international help, for Iraq to recover. While US obligations to help in this process are clear, its ability to do so will remain severely limited as long as it is perceived as an occupying power with suspect motives. Billions of American tax dollars spent under the occupation have had only a modest impact. Restarting the Iraqi economy and putting Iraqis back to work should take precedence over corporate profit.
OBLIGATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
The United Nations and its organizations can point to significant achievements in peace keeping, conflict resolution, educational and humanitarian projects. The Iraq debacle is not one of those achievements. In Iraq, The UN was unfortunately used to legitimize and administer actions inconsistent with its charter. Whenever the UN became an unwilling tool, it was sidelined and ignored. The UN remains a perfectible organization, yet one that can summon the international community to constructive action. In order to play its proper role in Iraq, the UN too, needs to win back the confidence of a brutalized nation:
* The UN must cancel the unjust and crippling war reparations which were imposed upon Iraq after the first Gulf War.
* The UN must demand a full accounting of Iraqi assets which it had turned over to the occupying powers and secure the return of assets which were removed from Iraq during the occupation. Frozen Iraqi accounts should be recovered, along with any illicit accounts by the previous regime.
* The UN must, under appropriate conditions (to safeguard its own independence of action), assemble the necessary force and expertise to assume leadership of the process of returning Iraq to genuine independence.
* Outstanding debts by the previous Iraqi regime must be cancelled, especially those which financed arms purchases.
A VISION FOR IRAQ
As well wishers to the people of Iraq, we outline this vision for Iraq:
1. An independent Iraq
We avoid the term "sovereign", because it apparently can include an unelected government, led by selected exiles, with limited powers, no legislative authority except to declare martial law, little control over the country's economy or the actions of foreign troops and "contractors" on its soil!
A truly independent country is one fully in control of its internal and external security; its resources and its economy; its domestic and foreign policies.
The twentieth century had witnessed a prolonged popular struggle in Iraq against the presence of British bases and British hegemony. It would be a mistake to try to repeat that unhappy chapter, in the twenty first century, under an American flag!
2. A democratic Iraq
Under the "One man- One vote" principle of democracy, each country must make its own adjustments in view of its historical and social realities. Iraq's religiously and ethnically diverse society may require some permanent protections to ensure representation of minorities.
3. A unified Iraq
A widely marketed story has it, that Iraq is really an artificial country invented by the British, and that it may be best to break it up into three or four pieces! Even some peace activists have been taken in by this story.
With all due admiration for British inventiveness, they do not hold full patent on this one. The exception being the straight lines with which British surveyors demarcated Iraq's western and southern borders, inventing the protectorate of Kuwait (formerly administered from Basra, Iraq, during Ottoman rule) For most of its history, "The Valley of the Two Rivers" has formed a geographic, historic and cultural unit. An Iraqi identity strongly binds its myriad, intermingled ethnic and religious communities of Iraq.
Breaking up Iraq can only set the stage for conflicts which would engulf the region. Demands by the Kurds for greater autonomy can be accommodated within a united, democratic Iraq. For centuries, Kurds and their neighbors have lived peacefully.
4. A peaceful Iraq within a peaceful Middle East
Democracy is rarely nurtured, nor will it endure amidst constant conflict, fear and socioeconomic injustice. No country in the Middle East can insulate itself from the festering Israeli/Palestinian/Arab conflict. Here, the US does hold the key:
- To a just solution through encouraging peace constituencies from both sides and implementing relevant UN resolutions (with one tenth the vigor used to impose them on Iraq!) - Or to continued conflict through continued uncritical support for Israeli actions and policies which violate international law and Palestinian human rights, and inflame resentment throughout the Arab world. Resolving this conflict is possible and is a prerequisite to desperately needed regional cooperation, and ridding the Middle East from weapons of mass destruction. That resolution, rather than bombing and invasions, is the key to promoting democracy and combating terrorism.
We trust that the above elements of a vision can summon the creative energies of Iraqis to rebuild their country, assisted by the international community.
STEPS TOWARD THE VISION
The fact that strife in Iraq has not abated after installation of the "Interim Government", would indicate that this government is seen as a surrogate for US occupation. Indeed, US troops continue to have a free hand throughout the country and there is no sunset date for their exit. Under these circumstances, the planned elections in 2005 in Iraq, would be similarly tainted, denying any resulting government full legitimacy.
The very idea of a "sovereign" government under the shadow of a major US military force, which has appropriated the symbol of authority in Baghdad, the massive Republican Palace compound as its "embassy", is simply a recipe for insurrection.
To win the confidence of twenty four million Iraqis, and their participation in the reconstruction of their nation, the following steps are needed:
1. A declaration of intent by the US to totally withdraw from Iraq over two phases which can be completed within six to nine months. During the first phase, which may take two to three months, a UN force is assembled from disinterested countries and introduced into Iraq. It may be noted that, in view of recent history, Iraqis are unlikely to welcome contingents from neighboring countries under UN flag. As the UN force moves in, American forces are to be correspondingly reduced and withdrawn from urban areas to a number of temporary bases. Once the UN military and administrative staffs are in place, they should be formally handed all powers held by the occupation force, thus marking the start of the second phase.
During the second phase, some American forces may remain for the balance of the nine month timeframe, but only as an emergency back up to the UN force, whose own window of operation in Iraq should be limited to twelve months.
2. Even more important than the UN's military presence, would be the UN's political mission, whose task should be to facilitate the reemergence of political institutions and parties in the country to enable a political process to start. The UN political mission should be empowered to amend or cancel, as it deems necessary, edicts inherited from the American administration. Voter registration and preparations for monitored national elections would proceed. At the same time, a constitutional convention should be convened in which leadership from all elements of Iraqi society would be represented. UN diplomats and experts should act as facilitators and advisors. The end products of the second phase should be an elected parliament, a provisional government and a draft constitution.
3. The first task of an elected parliament would be to debate, refine and finalize the draft constitution. It is hoped that the resulting permanent constitution would enshrine hallmarks of a modern democracy, including:
* Basic liberties, human and citizenship rights for all Iraqis, regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation.
* Definition of the roles and limits of the executive, legislative and judiciary branches, the separation of powers, the orderly transfer of power after elections, safeguards against dynastic succession and the perpetuation of the rule of any individual, family or party. Finally, firm civilian control over a unified military.
* Recognition of Islam as the religion of the majority, while guaranteeing freedom of conscience and full equality for all Iraqis under the law. Such balancing provisions would, hopefully, prevent the emergence of a theocracy, or the domination of one religious or ethnic group over others.
* While the terms of political debate should ideally be drawn along political and economic, rather than ethnic or religious lines, it may prove expedient to retain certain, minimal provisions to ensure reasonably proportional representation for Iraq's various ethnic and religious communities.
These are no easy tasks. Can they be completed in twelve or fifteen months? That is not as critical as giving Iraqis a clear path toward democracy and genuine independence. UN experts may contribute ideas, explain benefits and options for democratic governance, but they cannot dictate. With the adoption of a permanent constitution and the accession to power of a freely elected government, Iraq emerges from the shadows of dictatorship, occupation and UN guidance to take full charge of its destiny, its economic, social and foreign policies.
This position paper is offered by the Interfaith Network of Concern for the People of Iraq (INOC). References to source materials and a shorter version of this position paper may be found on the INOC website: http://www.concernforiraq.org
9 September 2004