Thinking for Ourselves

Failed Governments

By Shea Howell

Michigan Citizen, June 24-30, 2007

The significance of specific military encounters in Iraq is obscured by the reports of numbers. We are told the number of attacks against U.S. soldiers, the number of dead and wounded, the number of Iraqi civilians wounded or killed. We know that all these numbers are increasing, not decreasing.

But sometimes there are reports of encounters that bring the blurry picture of Iraq into sharper focus. Such an instance happened this week in the city of Amara, the provincial capital of Maysan in southern Iraq where British and Iraqi forces were reported to be chasing Iran-backed Shiite militants.

Since August of 2006 Amara has been in the hands of Iraqi security. As a result, according to US. and British intelligence reports, the city has become a “known safe haven” for opposition to occupation. Under the banner of fighting these “terrorists,” British and Iraqi troops have launched joint raids into neighborhoods. Many Iraqis believe these raids are aimed at followers of the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Soldiers, reportedly met with fierce small arms fire, called in air support. Increasingly, in areas where soldiers are outnumbered, they rely on the use of helicopters and fighter planes to bring in the firepower needed to dominate and destroy an area. This overwhelming force kills indiscriminately.

In the end more than 20 people were reported killed. The British and Iraqi military officials claimed they were all terrorists. Local officials tell a somewhat different story. Latif al-Timini, a member of the provincial council, said that 16 residents had been killed and a woman and her child were among the 14 wounded. “Most of the dead were killed in bombings as they were sleeping on the roofs of their homes. Those killed were residents and not linked to any political party,” he said. Residents’ fury over the attacks led the local council to hold an emergency meeting to demand an apology from British and Iraqi forces and to suspend work for three days as a sign of protest. So far, no apologies have been forthcoming.

This encounter captures the day-to-day reality of increasing military actions. It is foolish beyond words to think that they will bring anything other than a desire for increased vengeance. The effort to have Iraqi forces take control of an area has only led to sectarian violence. The effort to chase terrorists has only led to killing people sleeping on their roofs. Military versions and those of local officials contradict each other. Local officials are unable to hold anyone in the military accountable.

The tragedy of this battle was highlighted by an almost unbelievable decision by the British to accompany bombs and guns with leaflets. An Iraqi security official in Amara said the British troops dropped leaflets from helicopters declaring: "The Iraqi government will not be soft on terrorism" and "Maysan will not be a safe area for the Iranian Qods Force and its agents who want to weaken the Iraqi government." It is hard to imagine what a person picking up one of these leaflets must think. Most Iraqis did not need to read the report from the Fund for Peace that came out as the leaflets were flying. They already know that the government created and supported by the U.S. has failed. In the third annual “Failed States Index” Iraq is now the second most unstable country in the world. Its standing has fallen from last year where it was in fourth place. Only Sudan demonstrates greater instability.

Efforts to support a government so far removed from its people are as meaningless as leaflets dropped from the sky.

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