Faltering Steps
The Iraqi Cabinet has passed a resolution requiring US troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns by 30 June 2009. They have also set a date of 31 December 2011 for the complete withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. The dates are supposedly “set and fixed” and “not subject to circumstances on the ground.” These few tentative steps are resolutions that still need to be approved by the Iraqi Parliament but are signs that Iraq is starting to take a more substantial role in controlling its own future. Like a person recovering from a devastating injury, the road to recovery is slow and painful but requires the full commitment of the individual. Changes can not be forced upon the country by outside forces however well meaning the intent. It will be interesting to see if the incoming administration will allow Iraq to succeed, or fail, on its own. The question now is whether these next few faltering steps will keep the country moving forward on the road to recovery or if it signals the need for indefinite life support by the US.
Posted at 11/17/2008 11:48:00 PM UTC
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3 Comment(s):
The problem is that change was forced upon the Iraqis by outside forces in the form of the 2003 invasion.
But I agree, Iraq needs to take the lead on this, so this is a good promising start.
Yep, and this will go down in history as the most bloody, most chaotic, most traumatic, most protracted ousting of a dictator ever.
I wonder how thrilled the surviving relatives of the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians are about the new Iraqi government taking a more substantial role in the governing of occupied Iraq.
While I agree the invasion of Iraq by the US did not help the country, they were in a political quagmire anyway. When Saddam Hussein came to power in the 1968 coup, he instituted draconian policies to maintain control. As with all dictators, he effectively crippled the country politically by brutally crushing any resistance and consolidating his power base. A full generation of Iraqis did not have a say in how they were governed. Under the pretense of being democratically elected, Saddam ran the country the way he saw fit rather than to the benefit of the majority of the population. With the recent moves by the empowered parliament, the Iraqi government appears to be trying to take its own future in hand. I believe this change would have happened with or without the invasion. The US just help speed up the process.
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