IRAQ-CONFLICT: Interim national authority has to be formed quickly

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Att.Editors: The following item is by the United Arab Emirates news agency (WAM)

ABU DHABI, Apr 12 2003 (IPS) - A major United Arab Emirates (UAE) English daily today commented on the anarchy and chaos raging unabated in various Iraqi towns after the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime and wondered what plan the US and its allies have for post-Saddam Iraq.

Commenting editorially in its issue of today under the topic – Tell us the plan", the Dubai-based ‘Gulf News’ said in part: ôWhen the US Marines went into the centre of Baghdad on Wednesday and established control, they were met with scenes of popular rejoicing, which they had not seen during the past three weeks of war in Iraq.

ôThe obvious pleasure of the people in cities across Iraq sent a wave of optimism, mixed with grave doubts that the coalition will manage to deliver the genuine freedom that has been promised to the post-Saddam Iraq.

ôThe end of Saddam’s regime can only be good for Iraq, but any long-term involvement of the US is cause for suspicion.

ôThe excitement of the fall of Saddam has created a small window of hope for the US in particular. The United States’ long months of deliberate silence on what they plan for the political future of Iraq, and what role they want for themselves in that future, has been very unhelpful. It has allowed popular anti-US feelings to grow, fuelled by the continuing unstinting US support for Israel. It has shut out the Iraqis who might have helped build a political process to discuss the future of their own country.

ôMost Arabs have serious doubts that the US will allow Iraq true freedom. Experience has shown that the US likes ‘freedom’ which comes up with pro-Western results, but works hard to frustrate any freedom that goes the other way. For example, one of the tests of how free a new Iraq can be is if the new Iraqi government will be allowed by the US to refuse to recognize Israel, for which there will be strong pressure from the hawks in the Bush administration who are close friends of right-wing Israelis.

ôHowever, coalition silence on the political plan was broken at the Belfast summit. Both US President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair made clear for the first time that an interim Iraqi authority should be made up of Iraqis, and that the UN will have a role, although Bush called it vital and Powell later defined it as ‘vital but not central’.

ôThey did not define which body would be in charge, and there is still too much which is not clear. It is important that all Iraqis and non-Iraqis can work together within a common political framework. If the framework itself is loose for too long, then little progress will be made. The mechanism by which Iraqis can come forward and be identified should be spelt out for all to know, and leaders from the population in Iraq will be able to come forward and help shape the future of their country.

ôThe interim Iraqi authority has to be formed quickly, so it can start to plan, even if the war is continuing. It can continue to absorb new members as time goes on, and its role becomes closer to that of a government and less of a relief organization, which is probably how it will have to begin.

ôPolitics in Iraq has to start. The present vacuum is frightening since it can be misused and the future of Iraq could be perverted away from what the Iraqis themselves want," concluded the paper.