The Shiite insurrection against US military occupation seems to have reignited in Iraq. News reports talk about the most intense fighting in the Shiite holy city of Najaf since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The US military says it killed 300 militants.
The clashes between the US-led coalition forces and Shiite leader Muqtada Al Sadr’s Mahdi Army flared in Shiite communities across the country, killing dozens of other Iraqis. Baghdad’s Sadr City witnessed intense clashes between the Mehdi Army fighters and the US occupation forces. The British, Italian and Romanian forces were also attacked in Basra and Nasiriyah.
All this is taking place while the Sunni areas are in constant revolt against the occupation.
The latest clashes in the south and Baghdad show that the US-led coalition seems to have decided, yet again, to wipe out the Mehdi Army. Well, they tried it before but failed and chances are they will fail again because for every fighter that is killed there will be 10 others who will take up arms against the occupation forces.
Meanwhile, the number of people in the coalition countries who want their troops out of Iraq is growing day-by-day. Nearly three in four Poles say they oppose keeping soldiers in Iraq, according to a poll released on Thursday. The eroding support in Poland – a key coalition member with 2,400 troops in Iraq – highlights how anti-war sentiment is growing in nations the United States counts among its most resolute partners. Resentment is also growing in Romania and the Czech Republic among others.
As the United States works to keep the coalition together, efforts to persuade Muslim nations to contribute forces are getting a lukewarm response. So far there have been no takers. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage admitted that Muslim countries are resisting the proposal to set up a Muslim force to bolster the US-led coalition.
It is very clear that no Muslim country would want to be seen supporting the occupation of another Muslim country. The suggestion which came from Saudi Arabia was that coalition forces would be withdrawn as Muslim troops take up positions in Iraq. Their primary job would be to protect United Nations officials, but they also could be used to help guard the borders against armed infiltrators.
Armitage also admitted that the coalition forces were not only fighting foreign forces but elements of the former regime.
If we throw a glance at the demographic map of Iraq we realise that the coalition is rejected by almost 80 per cent of the population – excluding the Kurds almost all the rest of the population.
The message to the Americans and their coalition partners is loud and clear. They had no reason to invade the country, they have no reason to stay in Iraq and if they do things will only get worse for the Iraqis, for the coalition and for the Middle East at large.
The ball is in the US and its coalition’s court. They can end their occupation gracefully and hand over the reigns to the United Nations, who will receive the appropriate support from the Arab and Islamic world, or stay in Iraq and help increase the chaos in that country and increase the tension in the whole region. Both ways the coalition will lose. But with their pullout their losses will be short-lived.
Last update on: 8-8-2004