Confusion Leads to Suspicion (I)

Several matters dealing with Iraq surfaced recently. They added more tension and confusion to the way the Iraqis, Arabs & Muslims view the US, UK & West in general. Many questions are raised. Ordinary people in Iraq, Arab & Muslim world are so confused about the real intentions of the West, represented by US, UK, Denmark…etc.

A video showed a group of British soldiers beating a bunch of teenagers in Basra. Another release deals again with the abuses at Abu-Ghraib prison. The British government is dealing with the matter firmly. Regarding the British official attitude, one may look for an excuse which makes it understandable, since immediate decision is made to pursue the wrongdoers.

On the other hand, the second release of Iraqi detainees’ pictures & videos in Abu-Ghraib, which may have more issues in the future, represents a flaw in the way the US administration dealt with this dossier. Mr. Rumsfeld said in a previous session to the Congress that there would be more of these pictures. He said that he had seen much more than those released in April 2004. The question is “Why the Pentagon did not publish the whole bunch of them at the same time?” On doing so it wouldn’t take the sequence of rubbing salt into the wound every now and then. Moreover, it seems that the martial court did not put much effort to root out the whole story, since many big heads would roll. One may wonder whether the US administration wants to attract more terrorists to Iraq. And if it is so, more American soldiers could be harmed.

It becomes more complicated day after another to defend the decision to invade Iraq. The only tangible thing is kicking Saddam out of power which I think the most important event to make the Iraqis show gratitude to the coalition forces. President Bush said:

“Removing Saddam Hussein has made America safer and the world a better place.”

Especially Iraq Sir, and thank you for removing him.

Lot of my friends, acquaintances and colleagues are frustrated. They consider me one of the last optimistic Iraqis. Frankly, I can not find more concrete evidence to convince others of my point of view. The political process moves slowly and people are not ready to hear any more about it. They want deeds not words.

Another matter is the Guantanamo bay. It’s not clear under which law or convention people are detained there. What I mean is that US should keep the reputation of the leading nation in the world intact. US have to keep in mind that it represents an exemplar and for that it should take righteous decisions. It is the leader in the world as President Bush said:

“So to make sure America remains the leader in the world, we're going to stay on the leading edge of research and development,…”

And I may add “and morality”. Mr. Bush phrased it like this:

“We say, people matter, every human life is precious.Then those human lives apply not just here at home, but on the continent of Africa, or in Muslim countries.”

To be continued…