THINKING FOR OURSELVES

Grand Illusions

By Shea Howell

Michigan Citizen, April 13-19, 2008

The fighting in Basra and the Sadr City section of Baghdad is a microcosm of the U.S. disaster in Iraq. None of the current disruption or deaths was necessary. The fighting was provoked by unilateral attacks on the Mahdi Army by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, attacks motivated by the petty political desires of both Bush and Maliki. Maliki and Bush’s General Petraeus also underestimated the resistance to their assaults. So they initiated a deadly, escalating conflict. As a result, they have unwittingly revealed the lie behind their “surge is a success” mantra.

Much of the reduction in violence over the last few months was because Moktada al Sadr had initiated and honored a unilateral cease-fire. His decision to fight back against the Maliki has not only dealt devastating blows against U.S. government positions, collaborators and Iraqi officials but also exposed their illegitimacy. He continues to demonstrate a far better grasp of the realities of Iraq than either the

U.S. military leadership or its puppet, Maliki. By all accounts, it is Sadr, not Maliki, who commands the loyalty of the people.

Finally, in what would be a laughable parody, if it weren’t so deadly, General Petraeus and Prime Minister Maliki are claiming victory out of this defeat. Patreaus tells Congress that the surge is working, we just need to be patient. Defying all logic, he claims we are winning, so we have to continue the surge.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Maliki further discredits himself by claiming victory in the battles of Basra and Baghdad, during which some estimates say as many as 50% of his forces deserted him. "The state came out with the maximum power, nationalism, popular and national support that expressed itself, and for the first time, the one who is cornered and defeated is this gang," he told CNN. The inability of these men to see what is happening is astonishing.

The Iraqi people have no affection or respect for the government established by the U.S. occupation. Maliki has done nothing to earn it.

As an exile who spent much of his life outside of Iraq, he has no connections with the Iraqi people or their struggles. He has proven ineffectual in bringing about stability, providing basic necessities and developing political consensus. His latest assaults on Moktada al

Sadr are little more than an effort to front for the U.S. while consolidating his own political position. He is now threatening to disenfranchise the Shiite poor, the vast majority of whom support Sadr. In a recent CNN interview he said, "A decision was taken ... that they no longer have a right to participate in the political process or take part in the upcoming elections unless they end the Mahdi Army." So much for his concern for democracy.

In a thoughtful effort to demonstrate his own power and contempt for the government, al Sadr has said he would consider disarming his militia if the religious leadership, not the puppet government, asks him to do so. It is highly unlikely that this will happen. The religious leaders know it is militias, not the police or army, that provide what order there is in Iraq.

Administration efforts to turn the U.S. troop presence and the Maliki government into some kind of legitimate authority are in vain because they simply are not. The reduction in violence that Petraeus loves to show on charts has not been because of more U.S. soldiers or Maliki’s leadership. It was because of the good will of al-Sadr. Petraeus has squandered that and the opportunity to acknowledge emerging leadership.

He continues to argue that the U.S. can bring peace through force, that Maliki will earn the support of the people. These are grand illusions.

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