A time to deconstruct a mistake
Dr. Zakir Husain, Dhaka
The PM of Japan is undoubtedly a man of honour. He is not prepared to break his promise to his friend; is determined to dispatch his "self defence" forces to Iraq. Without going into more critical political assumptions, may one ask why Japanese troops have to go to Iraq in "self defence?" What will the troops be defending other than themselves? Is Japan attacked by Iraq? The death of two well-meaning Japanese diplomats is tragic. But did they have to travel to a country under foreign occupation with a population seething in anger? There is a time of war and a time of peace and reconciliation. Clearly in Iraq, it still is war, however unequal the military power of the adversaries is. Now the Spanish casualties caused immense grief; the Spanish opposition leader Jose Zapatero, did not mince words as he narrated the series of mistakes by the ruling government of his country, demanded a change of policy. Likely that the Spanish contingent in Iraq will redouble their intelligence, secure their own safety behind a wall of defence, always in anxiety. But then why one has to go to a foreign land for self defence? What is the point of being in precarious self defence away from homeland? Defending whom and from what? The coalition, in utter frustration, unleashed "Iron Hammer" fighting an invisible "army" of resistance with massive firepower, to "teach a lesson." Is all that anything other than fuelling the anger of the Iraqis? An occupation army with diminishing morale is notoriously susceptible to immense cruelty on any victim of convenience not of conviction. A flying stealthy visit by the Commander in Chief was never considered to be one that boosts sagging morale of frustrated homesick troops in a foreign land fighting a war that is becoming ever more confusing even to their commanders. A predicament indeed. Elections 2004 will come and go; a president will be enthroned -- the incumbent or a new one. But how will this impasse come to an end? The present course seems to have all the makings of a protracted guerrilla struggle inevitably taking heavy toll of lives and liberty. Just as there is a time for what one believes a compelling war, so is there a time to deconstruct the mistake and motivation of war. Will the United Nations, sooner than later, be allowed to step into this mess, and do so with unequivocal authority and legitimacy? Will the Arab world, splendidly supine as of now, wake up and wrest into its hands its legitimate role, in concert with a UN force, a force not of occupation but of reconciliation and reconstruction? Will the OIC under new leadership stand up and be counted?
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