A fantastic op-ed column in The Wall Street Journal by Ahmad Chalabi, president of the Iraqi National Congress. He describes the problems with the Bush administration’s future plans for Iraq. He speaks from the inside. A great piece.
…the idea of democracy in Iraq and liberty for the Iraqi people have been in the conscience of Iraqis for three generations. We have sought it, dreamed of it, and fought for it–always paying a high price in lives lost. As deliverance approaches, we therefore intend to be full participants in shaping the future Iraq. American help is essential–and is welcomed–in winning the fight against Saddam. But the liberation of our country and its reintegration into the world community is ultimately a task that we Iraqis must shoulder.
— For Iraq to rejoin the international community under a democratic system, it is essential to end the Baathist control over all aspects of politics and civil society. Iraq needs a comprehensive program of de-Baathification even more extensive than the de-Nazification effort in Germany after World War II. You cannot cut off the viper’s head and leave the body festering. Unfortunately, the proposed U.S. plan will do just that if it does not dismantle the Baathist structures.
I have read many articles about how over-rated the concept of “stability” is (or can be). Fear of instability sometimes means that terroristic regimes are propped up, or tolerated … due to the anxiety of what would happen if those regimes disappeared. But periods of great instability sometimes are necessary in order to cleanse the system of despots, or ideological fanaticism.
— The truth is, there is more to the liberation of Iraq than battlefield victory or the removal of Saddam and his top-tier cadre of torturers. The transition to democracy–the task of exorcising Saddam’s ghosts from the Iraqi psyche and society–can only be achieved through self-empowerment and a full return of sovereignty to the people. This is our job, not that of a foreign officer. We are a proud nation, not a vanquished one. We are allies of the U.S. and we welcome Americans as liberators. But we must be full participants in the process of administering our country and shaping its future.
