This is another chance for the US administration to admit the Iraqi-project failure, and it’s another chance for the weak and collapsing governing institutions in Iraq to re-start the entire political process, and change it from the current imposed and imported practice to a locally borne one.
The Iraqis politicians involved in the US supported government had already proved to the entire world that they don’t care about any international law, any human rights law, and any local ethics or laws.
But we were expecting they would at least stick to their own rules! When the US administration, along with their Iraqi employees, put the 15th of August as a dead line for writing the Iraqi constitution, they were supposed either to finish the constitution by that time (which is an impossible and unrealistic task), or to de-assemble the parliament and hold new general elections.
The January elections didn’t solve any of Iraq’s problems because it happened in the wrong time and under the wrong circumstances, and it led to more destruction and disasters in Iraq. The current constitution process is happening in the wrong time and under wrong circumstances too.
De-assembling the joke called the Iraqi “government” would be in the best of Iraq and Iraqis, and holding new general elections without occupation forces going around the streets is the best scenario Iraq can reach to for the time being.
The US administration should think seriously of changing their policy in Iraq, and maybe changing their entire shameful Foreign Policy around the world.
The US stakeholders should conceder having some changes and modifications in their policy in Iraq on both the short and the long term.
On the short term, the US administration decision-makers should take the necessary steps from their side to stop the cycle of violence. The US-led coalition troops should be pulled out of Iraq ASAP. The details about the transitional period between the withdrawal of the occupation forces and the rebuilding of the Iraqi army and Iraqi security forces should be left to Iraqis to handle it by themselves. The US people should ask their government to stop causing the death of more US and Iraqi people in Iraq. The pentagon should start withdrawing the US troops from Iraq instead of sending more of them.
All the Bush administration's whining and speeches about “helping Iraqis by keeping the US army in Iraq” and “saving Iraqis from a civil war by keeping the US army to protect them from each other” make no sense and are all a bunch of lies and excuses to extend the US military presence in Iraq, and leave permanent bases in the country (Japan and Germany style). The US administration should simply change the idea of using Iraq as a military base for threatening other countries in the M.E. like Iran and Syria, and leave Iraq to Iraqis to live peacefully in their country.
If we want to “help Iraq” or to “save Iraqis”, the best way for doing so is asking the US-led occupation armies to leave Iraq.
If we believe in democracy and the right of people to rule themselves, and if we believed in the Iraqi people and their right to rebuild their country after the cruel decades of destruction because of internal and external reasons, we shouldn’t support another day of the illegal occupation.
On the long term, the US government supported by the US citizens should publicly apologize to Iraq and Iraqis for the horrible consequences of the illegal war and occupation, and they should ask the UNCC to start estimating the size of damage caused by the occupation forces to Iraq and Iraqis, and estimate the compensation that should be paid.
Whether this imposed constitution will be approved or not, it won’t solve the Iraqi crisis, it won’t be any better than the January pre-mature elections.
If it was about achieving more fake victories, and more benchmarks to prove something to the US people and the rest of the world, this constitution can be considered a small step in that direction.
If it was about achieving local accomplishments built on grassroots’ support, this constitution will be nothing more than ink on paper. It won’t be capable of improving anything, but it has the potentiality of making things worse by increasing the sectarian and political divisions in Iraq.
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