THE HADITHA HORROR

The War in Iraq, three years on, is not looking good for the Bush Administration and the Pentagon. Wave after wave of bombings, suicide attacks and civil strife have left the current American establishment and the new Iraqi government with a feeling of despair on what is the best way to steer Iraq into some sort of normality. The recent reports of the massacre that occurred in Haditha in November 2005 have again sullied the image of the American Marines in their manner and handling of Iraqi civilians. President Bush in a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged that the Abu Gharaib prison scandal was the biggest mistake in the war in Iraq. It is ironic that this admission came just days before reports of the Haditha massacre came to light.

The Haditha massacre has all the makings of another propaganda tool that can be used by insurgents and ex-Baathists to show the ‘true’ face of the American infidels in Iraq. The massacre itself is now under a military investigation to get the truth out about the incident in which US Marines allegedly gunned down 24 Iraqi civilians, which included women and children. The incident was recorded and reported by an Iraqi journalism student covering the war. Also, the trigger that instigated the bloodbath was apparently a Marine being killed by a roadside bomb, which led to the retaliatory killing of innocents. This latest incident is in line with a number of excesses committed by the US army that has failed the military’s mission to win hearts and minds. The Fallujah assault, Abu Gharaib, the Basra excesses by the UK forces and now the Haditha massacre have left the Coalition troops with much face saving to do. Also, the greater Muslim world has show cased the latest military excess to highlight the need for the troops to be withdrawn from Iraq, albeit for their strategic national interests.

The War in Iraq has seen has had its share of mistakes and shortcomings right from the start. To begin with the number of troops required to stabilize Iraq were not deployed. Former Coalition Provisional Authority Administrator, Paul Bremer, in his insightful book, ‘My Year in Iraq’ has pointed out that there was a consensus on the ground between the civilian and military authority that close to 500,000 troops would be required in Iraq. However, the Pentagon and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld reiterated their beleif that the 150,000 strong Coalition force would serve the purpose. Bremer’s contention to have more troops in Iraq proved to be right and the rise of the insurgency has been attributed to the lawlessness and lack of military patrolling in areas of Baghdad and the Sunni triangle.

The American policy of ‘De-baathification’ of the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi bureaucracy had the broad agreement of the Governing Council at the time, however, today the British Prime Minister has outlined the de-baathifaction policy as a oversight in the war. One must point out to the prime minister that to put all the blame for the current turmoil in Iraq on that one decision is far too simplistic and frankly too convinient to explain the stinging insurgency that had embroiled the nation. Agreed, that disbanding the Iraqi army had its drawbacks, but one must realize that it was the same Iraqi forces that terrorized the nation, and to have them still running the security in Iraq would have made the whole pretence of spreading freedom and democracy in Iraq laughable.

Analysts and Middle East experts often are quick to criticize the Bush Administrations pretext to go to war in Iraq. However, a solution for the current imbroglio is never offered or not thought through. Senator Joe Biden and Leslie Gilb’s idea to separate the country on ethnicity under a federal structure united by a federal government in Baghdad does hold some merit. The three years since the fall of Saddam has seen intense bickering between the Sunnis, majority Shias and the autonomous Kurds. Frustratingly, each with a set of demands diametrically opposing the others. The Shias want to run the country, the Sunnis want more say in the government and the Kurds are insistent on autonomy. The idea for federalism while moderately acceptable will have to deal with a few outstanding issues before it can be implemented. The Kurds will have to be told that autonomy will not mean ultimate statehood to form a Greater Kurdistan which includes areas of Turkey with a majority Kurdish population as part of the proposed nation. The Sunnis will have to be given broad commitments that a reasonable share of the country’s oil revenue will be given to their provinces. However, they will also have to exert influence on the Sunni led insurgency to put down their arms and join the mainstream. The Shias will have to be brought on board to disband their militias and rule Iraq in an inclusive manner involving all minorities. A task that seems easy on paper but is near impossible to achieve, as anyone who knows Iraq will understand the deep resentment and animosity that exists between the three ethic groups (and partly why Saddam had to rule with an iron fist to control the country).

The Bush administration is seen drifting out its second term and it is acute need of a major shakeup. While the architect of the neo-con policy Karl Rove has been eased out of the White House’s West Wing, he still enjoys tremendous power. Similarly, now with Paul Wolfowitz, the former Under Secretary of Defense now cooling his heals at the World Bank, the neo-con messiahs are not exactly the flavor of the month in Washington. Also, with Colin Powell, the only dovish voice in the administration, having left the Bush team, there is a need to elevate people who are ready to accept mistakes in the conduct on the war in Iraq and ready to listen to voices urging change. Most importantly, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney must take some of the blame and make way for younger and more balanced people in the Bush cabinet. If Bush wants to leave some sort of a legacy and more importantly some semblance of order in Iraq a major shake-up is the need of the hour, failing which the current rigid policies of Messers Rumsfeld and Cheney will sink Iraq into anarchy and also mark the eight years of the Bush White House as a miserable failure.