the Shiite-led government of Nouri Maliki. With tensions
again high, some wonder of the nation can remain intact.
America Stands
Silent as Iraq Heads toward 'Fiery Holocaust' (Kitabat,
Iraq)
"Right now, measures
are being prepared that could ignite another excruciating crisis, the outcome and
damage of which only Allah knows. ... Iraq is at risk of a fiery holocaust that
exceeds the danger of all other countries in a region aflame. ... The
indifference of the Obama Administration reflects a contempt for the legitimate
demands of Iraqis and a collapse of American values unprecedented in its
history. In a country into which America poured all of its resources to occupy and
control before abandoning it to lick its wounds, this is a homicidal position
to take."
Sunni member of the National Assembly, Ayfan Al Essawi, was killed this week by a suicide bomber. Essawi was former leader of the Sahwa, a group of Sunni tribal militias that rejected al-Qaeda and sided with America in 2006, helping turn the tide against the Iraqi insurgency. Since his death on Monday, 27 more people have been killed in bombings.
The absence of an American position on demonstrations in Anbar and other Iraqi provinces poses more than just a question
mark. The silence on the part of the United States comes as Iraq faces its most
dangerous crisis - and with the Iraqi government itself silent on the legitimate
demands of the [Sunni] protesters. Right now, measures are being prepared that could
ignite another excruciating crisis, the outcome and damage of which only Allah knows.
Such will be the result of an absence of will to listen to the demands of the protestors.
Failing to hear and act on these demands will make the situation far more
difficult and complex domestically, in the United Nations, and specifically in
the United States.
And for all that, the absence of an American position is deliberate.
Despite the legality of the demands and peacefulness of the demonstrations,
which are in accord with democratic principles, U.S. silence, characterized by
indifference toward the worst crisis ravaging this country today, confuses and
confounds many of those who follow Iraq's political situation. Meanwhile, the
Iraqi government is trying to portray the protests as destructive - even though
everyone knows that the protesters are peaceful, that their demands are just, and
that the government and parliament need to quickly take a position, Baghdad argues
that the protests offer a distorted view of democracy. The positions we have
seen so far only show that no vision for a solution exists, and that there is a
trend toward escalation and riding the wave of blind stubbornness. The country is
at risk of a fiery holocaust that exceeds the danger of all other countries in a
region aflame.
The silence and
indifference being shown by the U.S. administration marks an unprecedented situation:
by refusing to take a stance just when doing so might restore some balance to
the situation, a major power, which mortgaged Iraq to its regime, has let it
down under the worst possible circumstances. That this absence of a position is
intentional is proven by the lack of sympathy for the very democratic practices
that the U.S. administration once praised day and night. It seems that on this occasion,
the people following such practices are not favored by the White House. Showing
indifference, the administration has turned away from the potential danger of a
policy that at the very least threatens U.S. interests. If the Iraqi powder keg
explodes and triggers an the explosion across the region, the situation will
inevitably have negative repercussions on the United States.
The indifference of the Obama Administration reflects a
contempt for the legitimate demands of Iraqis and a collapse of American values
unprecedented in its history. In a country into which America poured all of its
resources to occupy and control before abandoning it to lick its wounds, this
is a homicidal position to take. Yet there is no one in the U.S. administration
lifting a finger to save Iraq from its current ordeal.
Iraqis in the provinces of Anbar,
Saladin, Diala and Nineveh find the U.S.
administration’s position strange. They considerate it immoral and contrary to American
values. The fact is that the U.S. administration has no values. We experienced its
savage brutality when its soldiers controlled the fate and brought suffering to
millions of Iraqis. Then came those who further suffocated the lives of Iraqis,
using methods worse than those practiced by the Americans. Since the Americans
left, political conflict has continued to inhibit Iraq's potential. Now it is Iraqi
politicians who benefit from these conflicts, using them as a means to extend
their control for the longest period possible.
As for the position of the international community, it took
no action until a huge number of requests for help piled up and it was forced
to issue advice. This "advice" has proven cold and futile, and bears
no relation to the monumental size of the tragedy and potential danger to Iraq.
In any event, Baghdad has turned a deaf ear to these admonitions, and the international
community has failed to pressure the Iraqi government to negotiate with its
people, listen to their legitimate demands and respond to them before events
get out of hand.
Worst of all is the position of the Arab League and its
unjustified silence regarding events in Iraq. The Arab League has become a tool
that America uses as it wishes. It would be better to call it the "American
League," as it doesn't represent the will of the Arab people and their
legitimate right to life. Since the Americans invaded, all the League does is
watch the latest crises. Iraqis have taken note that the Arab League has been
completely absent, and that its position regarding events in Iraq is utterly
devoid of honor.
It is hard to tell what remains of this ruined temple,
eating away at the Arab body, impotent to resolve crisis, incapable of extinguishing
the fires in the Arab world, or putting an end to the tyranny of its rulers or the oppressions
of its people. Sadly, the Arab League has become a "night club" for those
reveling in the tragedies of Arabs and drinking wine with prostitutes, while Iraqis
feel the bitterness and destiny of a nation, the fate of which only Allah knows
in terms of tragedy and catastrophe.
May Allah help Iraqis in their time of catastrophe, and may
the benevolent ones be those who write the book of history in a way that brings
balance back to Iraq. The people of Anbar are the
grandsons of this illustrious history, both recent and distant. They are the
ones who write of the pride of the Arabs, because they are the loyal faithful
who fear not the cause of Allah. They are the ones who step forward when hunters
are needed. They are the noble ones who honored the entire world. They are the
ones who are true to their word. They held and continue to hold high the banner
of Arab honor, with the help of Allah lifting the heads of all Arabs.
All good and faithful Arabs who live in Mosul, Saladin, Diyala, Kirkuk and the cities of the south are with them. The
stand of Anbar's people lifts the heads of all Iraqis
and the inhabitants of every land where high ideals and principle is defended.
