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To: sciAticA errAticA who wrote (31945)	4/20/2003 11:20:31 AM
From: sciAticA errAticA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Iraqi People's Islamic Sentiments Shift Balance of Power Tehran Times April 20, 2003 U.S. analysts thought they would get their hands on Iraq following the mysterious fall of Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein. But their joy has been short-lived, since in recent days the social awareness and objections of the Iraqi Muslim nation have influenced developments in the Islamic country. It is the will of the Iraqis rather than the military power of the occupiers that will write the last chapter. Over the past few days, Iraqis in various cities have revived their social awareness in the holy Islamic land, expressing their objections to the occupiers by gathering at religious sites. Latest reports say that more and more Iraqis are protesting. This reached a high point, especially in Baghdad, when they participated in the first Friday prayers across the country since the fall of the Baathist regime of Iraq. Recent developments should be examined from the following angles: (1) As the United States has always preferred the hegemony approach to the existing realities in dealing with Islamic states, it has erred in analyzing developments in Islamic states. Once again U.S. military strategists failed to foresee the popular uprising of the Iraqis against the occupiers in the wake of the absence of the despotic regime of Saddam Hussein. The demands of the Iraqi people have proven that the U.S. administration's media and psychological operations have failed miserably. The White House was not ale to make use of its domination of he media, even in the closed atmosphere of a country like Iraq. The U.S. President George W. Bush believed that Iraqis, facing a Bush or Saddam choice, would eventually accept the presence of occupiers. However, it turned out that they are in favor of the third option of Islam and national solidarity, which will never roll out a red carpet for foreign rulers. (2) The second mistake on the part of U.S. politicians was that they equated Iraq with Saddam, assuming that unseating Saddam meant the surrender of Iraq. They reached the wrong conclusion because of the despotic behavior of Saddam's regime, which was shaped by the support it gained from the U.S. The Iraqi people never had the opportunity to express their wishes because of government suppression. The unexpected massive turnout of Iraqis at Friday prayers and the fact that Iraqis from all over the country have rushed to the shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) to commemorate Arbayeen (the fortieth day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein [AS]) is the most realistic picture of the country. 3) An Islamic nation with strong values and multiethnic solidarity will never submit to foreign occupation or give invaders free reign to loot its resources. Today, the value system of a Muslim nation has changed the current of events, putting a heavy burden on the shoulders of the occupiers, who are facing a powerful deterrent. The history of Islam and Iraq will never forget the impact of the presence of this oppressed nation. High attendance at mosques and the fact that people have gathered around religious figures to maintain order in the cities as U.S. forces turned a blind eye to chaos and looting have shown that the future government of Iraq will never be non-religious. And even if a secular system is imposed by force, it will not last long. (4) Contrary to what White House officials thought, the war on Iraq did not undermine Islam. Rather, it has resulted in the consolidation of genuine Islamic trends and boosted the inclination of the people of the region to the Islamic system of government based on the will of nations. Although some Islamic states are controlled by the Zionist lobby and their colleagues in the White House, Muslim nations and the society of the Islamic world have taken giant steps toward securing solidarity, revealing U.S. plots, and unleashing its increasing hatred of the Zionist regime. (5) The worn-out plot of colonial powers to sow discord between Shias and Sunnis has failed. The fact that Iraqi religious figures and the people have emphasized the need for solidarity among all Muslims proves their awareness and attests to the fact that the plot is outdated. Iraqi people regard the despicable actions, such as the assassination of Islamic figures by suspicious groups, to be part of the same plot. (6) In its Iraq experience, the United States has also discovered that the idea of exporting a liberal democracy to Islamic states is a stillborn baby. Neoliberalism and globalization require a network of corrupt and despotic puppet regimes in poor countries to suppress the values of the targeted nations. For instance, take the case of Saddam, a dictator who oppressed Iraqis with U.S. backing, and later inflicted massive humanitarian and economic damage on the brotherly Muslim nation of Iran. One side of the coin of U.S.-style liberal democracy was the last presidential election in Iraq, in which Saddam said he gained 100 percent of the votes. The other side was the symbolic war, which was waged to secure Saddam's U.S. masters domination of Iraq under the guise of freedom and democracy for Iraqis. There is no doubt that Saddam's downfall has benefited Iraqis. It also goes without saying that the world, including the United States, will benefit from George W. Bush's exit from the world stage. tehrantimes.com