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To: Oeconomicus who wrote (157314)	5/16/2003 11:21:20 AM
From: GST	Respond to of 164684

Baghdad's blundering victors GORDON BARTHOS Is Washington's new hard-nosed viceroy in Iraq — diplomat Paul Bremer — a stand-up comic? Blind as a bat? Or an artful liar? Shell-shocked Iraqis have been mulling the possibilities. On balance, liar may be the least obnoxious answer. Bremer blew into Baghdad this week heading a spanking new team of United States administrators. It was a bizarre, bloodless putsch of Americans by Americans that reflected some nasty political intrigue in Washington, a chaotic month-long military occupation in Iraq and catfights among top officials on the ground. Having barely arrived, Bremer took a quick look around and offered the view that the man he had just replaced, Gen. Jay Garner, "has done an outstanding job" getting the capital back on its feet. Maybe so, but only if you discount the gunfire, murder, looting and chaos. Perhaps Bremer was just being polite as he gave Garner the heave-ho. Despite the presence of 50,000 U.S. troops in Baghdad, anarchy still prevails, as Bremer discovered yesterday when he began meeting United Nations officials and Iraqi opposition figures who are jockeying for seats on an interim government in the coming weeks. There's no mayor, civic administration, functioning police force, phone service, street lighting, garbage pickup, reliable power, gasoline and water or semblance of order. There is cholera. Museums have been pillaged. Hospitals and schools stripped of equipment. Bandits, arsonists and looters rule the night. People fear for their lives. Even Garner concedes "it's not safe out there" in the city of 5 million. Few Baghdadis have even seen their American governor, who has been holed up in Saddam Hussein's Republican Palace, speaking mostly to Washington-friendly Iraqi exiles and rolling through the streets in armoured convoys. Where order has been restored, Iraqis have done it themselves, hiring gunmen to guard shops, clinics, schools. The Americans smashed Saddam's rotten regime in record time. But they have yet to assume their Geneva Convention responsibilities as an occupying power, to maintain order and to provide effective administration. That was U.S. President George Bush's first betrayal of Iraqis. Iraqis can only hope that Bremer — a diplomat skilled not at nation building, but counterterrorism — is not planning a second and worse betrayal by imposing a made-in-America "interim" administration stuffed with Washington-friendly figures like Ahmad Chalabi and Adnan Pachachi, who have been exiled for decades and who Iraqis barely know, much less trust. Most Iraqis aren't anxious to swap Saddam, a dictator, for administrators imposed from abroad. Roughly 14 million of Iraq's 24 million people are Shia Muslims, and any credible stopgap administration ought to be built around indigenous Shia leaders, with input from Iraq's 5 million Sunni Muslims and 5 million mostly Sunni Kurds. There's no shortage of local leaders. Shia politicians and clerics are popping up in Baghdad and elsewhere to provide much-needed services. But Washington dreads the rise of an Iranian-style Shia regime, and may be tempted to cast local Shia leaders only in supporting roles in the interim administration. That would infuriate the Shia majority, emboldening Ba'athist holdouts, terrorists and others to take up arms against the Americans and their perceived cronies. Better to woo Shia leaders from the get-go. And looking ahead to a time when Iraqis will be able to organize free elections, form political parties, campaign for office and choose their own permanent government, Bush would be wise to invite the U.N. in to supervise the process and lend it legitimacy. But there's no sign of that yet. Instead, Bush wants the Security Council to endorse an open-ended American/British "Authority," with little U.N. input. Yet Bush toppled Saddam promising to usher in democracy. That should mean letting Iraqis make their own choices, even their own mistakes. As soon as possible. And under impartial, international auspices. Anything less would be the most painful betrayal of all. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gord Barthos writes the Star's editorials on foreign affairs. Additional articles by Gordon Barthos torontostar.com

To: Oeconomicus who wrote (157314)	5/16/2003 11:31:41 AM
From: GST	Respond to of 164684

<<None of these potential government members proposed by Mr Garner, except for the Kurdish leaders, can be said to represent any of the locally rooted political or religious groups that have been sprouting up across Iraq. Especially in the majority Shia community, mosque leaders have taken matters into their own hands - restoring some order, running hospitals, distributing food, water and medicines. Shia religious leaders all over Iraq have quickly stepped into the vacuum left by the destroyed and disintegrated administration of Saddam Hussein. news.bbc.co.uk

To: Oeconomicus who wrote (157314)	5/16/2003 1:41:07 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Iraqis Say Anarchy Could Lead to Anti-US Violence By Wafa Amr BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis said on Friday their patience with U.S. pledges to restore law and order in Baghdad and to improve the economy was running thin and fear of lawlessness could lead to anti-American violence. Iraqis, many hiding in their homes for fear of being robbed, are now calling for the establishment of any interim government that would end what many see as growing anarchy. Some Iraqis who had celebrated the downfall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) last month in a U.S.-led invasion now say insecurity outweighs any feeling of political freedom and liberation. "Under Saddam we lived in fear, now we live in terror from crime and we live in poverty," said Othman, a taxi driver queuing to fill up his car with petrol. The absence of law and order was also disrupting the delivery of humanitarian aid. "We are concerned about the security situation," senior U.N. aid official Kenzo Oshima told a news conference in Baghdad. "Without adequate security, the delivery of humanitarian assistance will be hampered." Iraqis complain that the cost of living has more than doubled in weeks. While the Iraqi dinar's exchange rate to the dollar has appreciated, prices of food and petrol have risen. Suha Abdel-Hamid, a wealthy housewife, disappointed with the turn of events in Iraq (news - web sites), said she is now thinking of leaving the country in search of a safer and better life. "Saddam was brutal and cruel. He suffocated us but at least he restored electricity and normality after the 1991 war. What are the Americans waiting for?" she told Reuters. LIVING IN FEAR Grievances against the Americans for moving slowly to curb crime and establish a government were widely growing. Wamidh Nazmi, an Iraqi political analyst questioned the logic behind keeping Baghdad almost in complete darkness and without services more than three weeks after the war ended. "This is the worst situation in Iraq's modern history. On top of this there is no sense of security whatsoever. People also want wages," Nazmi told Reuters. He stood up and pulled a pistol from his pocket and said: "I simply went to the pharmacy next door to buy medicine, but I needed this to protect myself." U.S. civil administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer told reporters on Thursday the security situation was very serious but U.S. troops were addressing it and conditions were improving. Retired Christian teacher Sabah Yusef said security at the moment was more important than freedom. "If this anarchy and unemployment continues for another month, people will rise against the Americans and bring about a more chaotic situation," he said. Many Iraqis echoed his sentiments. In Baghdad, many women live in fear. Everybody has a story to tell about the abduction of women from the streets by violent criminals Saddam freed from jails in an amnesty in October. "I don't allow my sisters outside the house. When I leave home, I'm worried the criminals will come for my sisters, and when I'm at home I'm worried they will steal my car, it's impossible to live like this," said Sa'ad Kathem, an unemployed young man sitting on the street outside his home. story.news.yahoo.com

To: Oeconomicus who wrote (157314)	5/16/2003 1:56:41 PM
From: GST	Respond to of 164684

<<When the Army's top general, Eric K. Shinseki, said before the war that "several hundred thousand" soldiers might be needed for the occupation, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ridiculed his estimate as "far off the mark." It doesn't look so far off now. The general commanding U.S. ground forces says there is no way to secure a country the size of Iraq with the force he has. But it may be impossible to devote more resources to that task when we have so many others to worry about. The White House assured Americans that it could take out Mr. Hussein while keeping the pressure on terrorists in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Just last week, the administration was bragging about having the terrorists "on the run." While we were busy in Iraq, though, al-Qaida's killers apparently were busy right next door in Saudi Arabia. This week, we found we couldn't stop them from carrying out the biggest terrorist attack on an American target since Sept. 11, 2001. Afghanistan, once an American success, is now an American migraine. "Nearly every day," said a recent report in The New York Times, "there are killings, explosions, shootings and targeted attacks on foreign aid workers, Afghan officials, and American forces, as well as continuing feuding between warlords in the regions." Who said victory is sweet? sunspot.net