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Bush war down with the wall:
Absence of foresight
Posted By George S. Hishmeh
One wonders what possessed the Bush administration to believe that the best way to minimise the casualties in the raging sectarian war in Iraq will be in building high walls around the rival Sunni and Shiite neighbourhoods in Baghdad.
Or, isn’t this a clear indication of the continued absence of foresight at the start of the fifth year of the US-led military occupation.
One would think that those who have come up with this bankrupt idea would have reviewed recent history in the Arab world, especially the prevailing Arab attitude towards Israel’s "apartheid wall" that has led to a de facto usurpation of additional Palestinian lands in the West Bank, especially East Jerusalem.
Why these military planners did not see the futility of similar walls elsewhere in the world, or the negative effects of these foreboding structures as has been the case in Belfast or Berlin, to cite a few examples?
The US military is planning to build similar walls, interestingly, under cover of darkness, in at least 10 of Baghdad’s most violent neighbourhoods. They are also introducing biometric technology to keep track of the residents.
In a flippant manner, one uncouth American officer compared these "gated communities" to the ones prevalent in some expensive American neighbourhoods. These are situated mainly in resort towns where residents are absent a good part of the year, far from the Iraqi example!
The Iraqi outcry, coming from the public and the Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, against this shortsighted American plan merits an immediate positive response from the White House, which at present is facing a serious challenge from Congress and a not very encouraging assessment from American generals in the field.
General David H. Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, has conceded that the "surge" in American troops, now in its second month and still not fully complete, has achieved "modest progress".
The Washington Post, however, noted that the American troops have also met with "setbacks such as a rise in devastating suicide bombings and other problems that leave uncertain whether his counterinsurgency strategy will ultimately succeed".
General Petraeus said that on his third tour in Iraq he has found the Iraqi society to be "more fearful, more suspicious, more worried" and, the paper added, more difficult to help.
Since the "surge" began in February, reported the Guardian of London, "Sunni and Al Qaida insurgents have mounted at least 93 car bombings, killing or wounding more than 4,000". It added that since the start of the occupation in 2003, there has been more than 1,050 deadly car and truck bombings, resulting in civilians death totaling close to about 30,000.
Such statistics and other equally discouraging news from Iraq has contributed to the war of words now evident in the American capital between the senior members of the Congress, now controlled by the Democratic party which wants to set a withdrawal date, and the White House which this week saw Vice President Dick Cheney, who apparently prefers to stay in the background, enter the fray.
He admitted that he was incensed by the remarks of Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Majority leader, who had earlier maintained that the U.S. has lost the war in Iraq.
There is no doubt that the sectarian strife in Iraq will quiet down once the factions are encouraged to work out a reconciliation. Should the Shiite-controlled Iraqi government take serious steps in this respect it will find that many of its neighbors are willing to lend a helping hand.
Al Maliki may not have much time on his hand since two conferences on Iraq are due in the first week of May where several issues including internal reconciliation, constitutional amendments to open the door for more political participation by Sunnis, a modest de-Beatification programme and an equitable sharing of Iraq’s oil wealth among the various provinces in the country will be discussed - a tall order, no doubt.
These issues that are converging on the Iraqi government may be too difficult for Baghdad to manage alone - a situation that will require international sympathy, understanding and cooperation.
The Americans obviously will play a leading role in the process and this will require the Bush administration to be more open minded and accommodating to the American popular demands for an early exit strategy.
Likewise, all eyes will be on the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the upcoming Sharm Al Shaikh conference since she no doubt is aware of the Iraqi leaders’ visits to various capitals in the region. Her first goodwill step ought to be an American willingness to demolish the new walls i
* An Arab American columnist based in Washington.
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