by Abdul Hamid Ahmad
Gulf News
When Paul Bremer was named civilian governor of Iraq, he was defined as an expert in combating terrorism. Was Washington reading the future when it gave him the post so that it would be prepared for the days to come?
Those days have now come. Perhaps America will call it terrorism against its forces while others, including of course, some, not all Iraqis, will consider it resistance against the Americans.
The U.S. reactions to Iraqi attacks, which are carried out almost every day, are indications that Washington will consider them as acts of terrorism. And this was evident in its latest operation under the cover of night against what it claimed to be a training camp. The savage operation resulted in the death of about 130 unidentified Iraqis, but the pictures that were broadcast of the operation gave no clue that it was, indeed, a training camp.
The operation was followed by a disarmament and hounding campaign code named "Desert Scorpion" to destroy what the Americans claimed to be the remnants of Saddam Hussain and his defunct Baath Party.
U.S. should stop provocative acts
The code name given to such an anti-resistance operation is wrong. The scorpion is too small a creature to give chase. It hides behind rocks or digs into the sand to bite only those who are about to stamp it or come near it in self-defence.
Therefore, the code name "Desert Scorpion" should be given to the Iraqi resistance since it is an act of self-defence against the American occupation and provocations. We can even say this resistance is the Americans' own creation since the so-called remnants of Saddam and the Baath Party have discarded their weapons and fled because they do not want to fight.
America's first provocative act was its decision to disband the army, the defence and information ministries and other institutions that provided jobs to hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who now find themselves jobless. They have not even been given any promise of jobs or help. And neither have families received these promises.
The move was followed by a decision to ban all Baathists from all jobs or involvement in politics. This means the Americans have, in fact, recruited hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Baathists and others against their own forces. What do the Americans expect from people who see their decisions as oppression and acts of hostility?
The disarmament drive was another provocative act because it involved storming houses and searching cars. This operation came amidst the prevailing confusion, lack of security and increasing incidents of looting and burglaries in the middle of the day as we see on television. When Iraqi families are flagrantly robbed in public, the people have no choice but to resist and fight as long as the Americans do not ensure security for them.
We are not going into details of other daily provocative acts like harassing and searching women, and insulting men and the nationalistic feelings of the people. There are more serious provocations against the entire nation.
Let Iraqis run their own country
The Americans are trying to insult the intelligence of Iraqi citizens by not letting them run their own country and by bringing in more U.S. experts to rule the Iraqis although they have highly qualified people who are not only able to rule but to fully manage the country's political, economic and social affairs.
These deliberate attempts to marginalise the Iraqis cast doubts not only on American intentions, but also on the very existence and future of Iraq. These acts trigger Iraqi resistance and garner widespread support and sympathy for it.
It has become clear that the Americans themselves are creating the Iraqi resistance by failing to honour their promise of freedom for Iraq. More than two months after their occupation of the Arab country, the Americans have failed to bring security and dignity to the Iraqis and nor have they achieved their stated goal of freedom for Iraq. It is obvious that nothing is expected to be achieved in the near future.
It is true that the Americans in Iraq are occupation forces and the UN Security Council has given them that status although they invaded Iraq as liberation forces in the first place. Their slogan was "freedom of Iraq" - they had the chance to play the role of a liberator.
But they have veered away from that slogan and plunged deeper into the role of an occupier. By doing so, the Americans are pushing themselves into a quagmire where they will only gain more hatred and prompt the Iraqis to carry arms and resist the occupation.
The American forces will gain nothing by claiming that resistance attacks are carried out by the remnants of the Baath Party and Saddam Hussain.
Even if they are telling the truth, the resistance is a welcome development even if it comes from the devil. The resistance will escalate and will be joined by other "remnants" of the people: The more loathed the occupation becomes, the stronger and more violent the resistance will be.
The American occupation forces are, in fact, making great progress in inciting and strengthening such a resistance. The scorpion of the resistance is now in every hole, biting them every day. It is in the process of breeding into many scorpions stalking the Americans throughout Iraq.
Gulf News
When Paul Bremer was named civilian governor of Iraq, he was defined as an expert in combating terrorism. Was Washington reading the future when it gave him the post so that it would be prepared for the days to come?
Those days have now come. Perhaps America will call it terrorism against its forces while others, including of course, some, not all Iraqis, will consider it resistance against the Americans.
The U.S. reactions to Iraqi attacks, which are carried out almost every day, are indications that Washington will consider them as acts of terrorism. And this was evident in its latest operation under the cover of night against what it claimed to be a training camp. The savage operation resulted in the death of about 130 unidentified Iraqis, but the pictures that were broadcast of the operation gave no clue that it was, indeed, a training camp.
The operation was followed by a disarmament and hounding campaign code named "Desert Scorpion" to destroy what the Americans claimed to be the remnants of Saddam Hussain and his defunct Baath Party.
U.S. should stop provocative acts
The code name given to such an anti-resistance operation is wrong. The scorpion is too small a creature to give chase. It hides behind rocks or digs into the sand to bite only those who are about to stamp it or come near it in self-defence.
Therefore, the code name "Desert Scorpion" should be given to the Iraqi resistance since it is an act of self-defence against the American occupation and provocations. We can even say this resistance is the Americans' own creation since the so-called remnants of Saddam and the Baath Party have discarded their weapons and fled because they do not want to fight.
America's first provocative act was its decision to disband the army, the defence and information ministries and other institutions that provided jobs to hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who now find themselves jobless. They have not even been given any promise of jobs or help. And neither have families received these promises.
The move was followed by a decision to ban all Baathists from all jobs or involvement in politics. This means the Americans have, in fact, recruited hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Baathists and others against their own forces. What do the Americans expect from people who see their decisions as oppression and acts of hostility?
The disarmament drive was another provocative act because it involved storming houses and searching cars. This operation came amidst the prevailing confusion, lack of security and increasing incidents of looting and burglaries in the middle of the day as we see on television. When Iraqi families are flagrantly robbed in public, the people have no choice but to resist and fight as long as the Americans do not ensure security for them.
We are not going into details of other daily provocative acts like harassing and searching women, and insulting men and the nationalistic feelings of the people. There are more serious provocations against the entire nation.
Let Iraqis run their own country
The Americans are trying to insult the intelligence of Iraqi citizens by not letting them run their own country and by bringing in more U.S. experts to rule the Iraqis although they have highly qualified people who are not only able to rule but to fully manage the country's political, economic and social affairs.
These deliberate attempts to marginalise the Iraqis cast doubts not only on American intentions, but also on the very existence and future of Iraq. These acts trigger Iraqi resistance and garner widespread support and sympathy for it.
It has become clear that the Americans themselves are creating the Iraqi resistance by failing to honour their promise of freedom for Iraq. More than two months after their occupation of the Arab country, the Americans have failed to bring security and dignity to the Iraqis and nor have they achieved their stated goal of freedom for Iraq. It is obvious that nothing is expected to be achieved in the near future.
It is true that the Americans in Iraq are occupation forces and the UN Security Council has given them that status although they invaded Iraq as liberation forces in the first place. Their slogan was "freedom of Iraq" - they had the chance to play the role of a liberator.
But they have veered away from that slogan and plunged deeper into the role of an occupier. By doing so, the Americans are pushing themselves into a quagmire where they will only gain more hatred and prompt the Iraqis to carry arms and resist the occupation.
The American forces will gain nothing by claiming that resistance attacks are carried out by the remnants of the Baath Party and Saddam Hussain.
Even if they are telling the truth, the resistance is a welcome development even if it comes from the devil. The resistance will escalate and will be joined by other "remnants" of the people: The more loathed the occupation becomes, the stronger and more violent the resistance will be.
The American occupation forces are, in fact, making great progress in inciting and strengthening such a resistance. The scorpion of the resistance is now in every hole, biting them every day. It is in the process of breeding into many scorpions stalking the Americans throughout Iraq.
