A MASS UPRISING
THE IRAQIS HAVE risen en masse against the neo-colonial occupation of their country by the United States and its smattering of allies. Washington deceives itself and seeks to deceive the world when it claims that the forces of the occupation are dealing only with small groups of miscreants who are determined to thwart the democratic aspirations of an Iraqi majority. In its hubris the Bush administration refuses to acknowledge the reality that an overwhelmingly large proportion of the Iraqi people sympathise with the resistance and provide assistance whenever able to do so. Even those who welcomed the ouster of the regime of Saddam Hussein and those who fear that conditions in the country will become chaotic if foreign troops depart have expressed their opposition to the occupation. Hearteningly, sectarian differences did not block the Iraqis from uniting behind a common cause. Shias collected and ferried food and medicines to Sunnis besieged in the town of Falluja. Warriors belonging to both sects fought shoulder to shoulder, setting aside conflicts over the future leadership of their country. The quisling Governing Council set up by the neo-colonial powers has begun to unravel; its members denounced the brutal methods used to suppress the resistance and the security forces under its command melted away whenever they were confronted by the masses. The solidarity demonstrated by the Iraqi people as they fiercely fight for freedom is all the more remarkable since they do not have a united leadership.
The chief occupying power, which has a huge military advantage, might eventually prevail in the current phase of fighting and reconquer the four or five towns that have fallen to the resistance. However, any success will prove to be ephemeral. The hatred the Iraqi masses feel towards the forces of the occupation has only grown on account of the death and destruction caused by the use of armour and air power in populated areas. Hospitals, mosques and private residences have been shelled and bombed. Over 400 Iraqis, most of them civilians, are estimated to have died in Falluja alone as U.S. Marines tried to bludgeon a path to the city centre. The guerrilla war that has been waged since the inception of the occupation will only intensify with the people of the country determined to avenge these deaths. The occupation forces will be hard-pressed to protect lines of communication to Kuwait in the South and Jordan in the West and their supply columns will be constantly under the threat of attack. Civilian expatriates working for the occupation, including mercenaries who masquerade as security guards, will be particularly vulnerable. The resistance has abducted the citizens of nearly half a dozen countries with the aim of forcing the governments concerned to withdraw their support for the occupation.
America's much-touted "alliance" is a shambles. The military units contributed by these so-called allies were either too small or too ill trained to be effective. Kazakhstan's minuscule contingent will not be replaced when its tour of duty ends next month. The Italian and Japanese Governments are under pressure from the families of the kidnapped. Even the United Kingdom has finally found its voice and officially expressed the opinion that the resistance is more broad-based than the U.S. is willing to acknowledge. A plan to transfer power, in form though not in substance, to an interim Iraqi government by the end of June is in jeopardy. The United Nations, which has been asked to assist in this exercise, will not be able to hold the wide consultations that it has promised since Iraq is in turmoil. The superpower is stuck in a desperate situation since it cannot either advance towards its political objectives or retreat from the country it invaded.
Editorial
The Hindu
4/14/04 |
