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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Professional Peacenik Advises USA to Stay the Course in Iraq |
| 2004-06-09 |
| From The Washington Post, an opinon article by Daniel Serwer, director of peace and stability operations at the United States Institute of Peace. .... The ultimate option is to throw Iraq away. The polls show that Iraqis oppose the occupation. We could set a date certain for withdrawal. What’s wrong with that? Plenty. I have recently returned from Baghdad, where the U.S. Institute of Peace conducted a workshop on facilitating inter-ethnic dialogue for 45 provincial government and civil society leaders. They came from the north-central governorates of Iraq, where the bulk of its mixed population of Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Christians, Turkomen, Yezidi and others have lived side by side for generations: from the contested oil-rich city of Kirkuk, from Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, from the Sunni stronghold of Fallujah, from the central Iraqi city of Baqubah and from the metropolis of Baghdad. Some were Islamists, some secularists. Some had resisted Hussein, but at least two fought in the Iraqi army against the Americans. .... Polls do not capture the complicated and sometimes confusing ideas and emotions of these Iraqis. They are not all enthusiasts for the Americans. A few even think the daily violence is an American plot to allow the coalition to strengthen its hold on the country. But at the same time these Iraqis want to play a role in making their country secure, democratic and prosperous. They want the intervention to succeed in producing a new Iraq. Despite their diversity, Iraqis share a common enemy -- the Hussein regime, which still lives in their minds’ eye -- and a common purpose: to overcome their past and create a better future. There are many more Iraqis like those I have met. A core of courageous activists is creating civil society in Iraq. One thousand nongovernmental organizations have officially registered. More than 2,000 Iraqis applied for seven high-risk positions on the electoral commission. To be sure, jobs are scarce, but in the midst of concerted violence it is more than the need for a paycheck that inspires Iraqis to apply. What happens if the intervention fails, or if the United States withdraws prematurely on a schedule determined by Washington’s requirements? Iraqis who want a peaceful, democratic country will be in mortal danger. Iraq will sink into chaos, civil war or renewed authoritarianism. .... The mistakes the United States has made in Iraq should not lead us into one more even greater error, forced by the dynamic of our own election campaign rather than by the ripeness of the situation on the ground in Iraq. Even if you think the war was wrong, the peace should still be right. Success in the effort to give Iraqis a chance to build a free society will set back extremism in the Muslim world and be a major step in the right direction for the Middle East. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #6 #5 Absolutely. I was out to dinner with a die hard liberal the other night and he too echoes what this guy says. Which is why Kerry, who sucks, also has no choice: his own supporters (those who continue to have working brains) want us to stay because they also see the obvious dangers of running away. It's also fascinating that there is indeed a point of consensus around Iraq. I find this very encouraging...and I'm glad that a peacenik has finally seen some of the light. |
| Posted by: RMcLeod 2004-06-09 6:52:05 PM |
| #5 y'all are missing the point. Even the asshats are beginning to see the light. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5173 2004-06-09 4:31:22 PM |
| #4 A few even think the daily violence is an American plot to allow the coalition to strengthen its hold on the country. Suggest to these stupid twats that it might be the Jews that are behind it all and they'd probably change their story in an instant. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-06-09 10:10:37 AM |
| #3 Speaking of which I assume Jarhead has deployed? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-06-09 9:59:53 AM |
| #2 Yeah, but that assumes no Marines are in the bar wearing deltas. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-06-09 9:59:10 AM |
| #1 Daniel Serwer, director of peace and stability operations at the United States Institute of Peace. Nice work if you can get it. I got five bucks that sez this guy doesn't have to buy a woman a single round at a bar. So, what do you do? I work at the Peace Institute. Can I buy YOU a drink? |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-06-09 8:59:18 AM |