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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: maceng2 who wrote (131652)	5/6/2004 12:54:43 AM
From: maceng2	Respond to of 281500

Reality Bites Dr. Mohammad T. Al-Rasheed. arabnews.com The pictures are clear. CBS’s report is shocking. The New Yorker article is comprehensive and being quoted by all the media in the world. The Pentagon did not deny the report nor even comment on it. The gist of the report is that “knowledge” about such practices is not new to the higher echelons of the Pentagon nor does it stop with the six soldiers. The shock is universal and not least in America where the great majority is sickened by such scenes. War is ugly, that is a given. But what makes this incident extra shocking is that the Americans came to Iraq to put an end to such practices. Since a chain is as strong as its weakest link, the renegade and sick few in the US Army have tainted the majority. Fair or not fair is beside the point. The reality is that many are making a big deal out of it and every little special interest is milking it to the bitter end. I can imagine Saddam in his five-star prison giggling himself into a stupor. What next? Simple. The law has to take over and democracy has to show its superiority in deeds and not words. The first order of business is for Rumsfeld and Hoon to resign. This is the acceptable, honorable and correct thing to do. Governments in Britain have fallen for lesser offenses. Officials in Britain have had to resign for walking around Clapham Common, let alone actually pissing on people. Since Blair is holding onto power like a little child with an expensive toy, we do not expect of him an Eden-like stand. The Americans, unfortunately, have no such tradition. Perhaps it is time to start one. Moral responsibility for subordinates’ behavior rests forever with the top people. A scandal in a big corporation brings down the CEO. Saddam, since he thought himself infallible, used to put his top generals in helicopters laden with explosives and ask them to take an airy ride. We don’t expect Bush to resign or Blair to put Hoon in one such helicopter. But the world expects a high enough standard of justice and law. There is a lot at stake here and not just the “fury” of the Arab world. From Latin America to South East Asia people are watching. If this is what lies ahead when America steps in, no one would want America anywhere near their borders. After Sept. 11, America had the high moral ground. From then on, in the words of senators and top American politicians, the Bush administration has managed to erode that credit. It is time for President Bush to shake off the burden of the people responsible for this state of affairs. Rumsfeld’s Pentagon has failed miserably. Apart from providing names of his friends, like Chalabi, to run the puppet council, his plans have come to nothing but grief. The euphoria of Saddam’s fall seems like ancient history now. Now the US Army is asking ex-Republican Guard generals to lend a helping hand. This is unseemly. Even Sen. McCain agrees with that. Fire Rumsfeld if he is not honorable enough to resign — for failing to brief the president on such matters if nothing else. Bush looked just as shocked and stunned and unaware as the rest of us. Fire the Governing Council and its puppets who collectively have the IQ of a chicken with a headache and the honesty of a weasel in a chicken coop. Drop the pretence of transferring power on June 30, which is a nonstarter in such circumstances to begin with. Divide Iraq into five or six voting districts according to ethnic or religious hues. Practically, Iraq is already divided into such districts. Have the people in those districts vote for one representative. Give those representatives real power to draft a constitution and run a general election. Declare such intentions unequivocally and wait for the honest reaction of the people of Iraq. This is the way forward, if anyone cares to listen.