World Tribune.com


Bush's 'Big Mo' in the Middle East


See the John Metzler archive

By John Metzler
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM

Sunday, February 6, 2005

UNITED NATIONS — Defying both the Islamic terrorists and the Western media nay-sayers, Iraqis turned out in large numbers and went to the polls to freely elect a constituent assembly. Exercising both civic responsibility and raw courage, the people of Iraq dumbfounded their many critics, who just days before the poll were predicting with the usual condescending smirks, that the Iraqi election would be marred by massive violence, low voter turnout, and whose likely outcome could be yet another failure of the Bush Administration’s ill-guided foreign policy.

The Iraqi majority, to their credit, proved most observers wrong. While President George W. Bush was exuberant about what he rightly called a “resounding success” none other than French President Jacques Chirac, a vocal critic of the war overthrowing Saddam, conceded the election “was an important stage in the political reconstruction of Iraq.” German Foreign Minister Joshka Fisher equally praised the courage of Iraqi voters, adding, “They deserve great recognition for the will they have shown to shape the future of their country peacefully and democratically despite massive intimidation.”

The International Herald Tribune’s lead editorial stated “Courageous Iraqis turned out to vote Sunday in numbers that may have even exceeded the most optimistic of predictions” While saying that its editorial page will likely continue to be a critic of the Bush Administration, it added importantly “Yet along with other Americans, whether supporters or critics of the war, we rejoice in a heartening advance by the Iraqi people.”

The election vindicated what some assert is President George W. Bush’s near messianic vision that expanding freedom will have political reverberations throughout the Middle East. Indeed during his State of the Union address, the President stated forcefully “The only force powerful enough to replace hatred with hope is the force of human freedom.” He added importantly, “our government has no right, no intention, and no desire to impose our form of government elsewhere.” That’s important to restate.

Interestingly a readers poll in the influential center left French daily Le Monde showed that fully 79 percent of respondents agree that the results of the Iraqi election was either an “important” (37 percent) or a “relative” (42 percent) success for American policy.

But here’s the point. The Iraqi election for the constituent assembly remains an important, albeit first step, proving that a freely exercised vote among a free choice of candidates IS possible in the Middle East – despite the very real threat of violence from terrorist networks that the vote would be insignificant in turnout, lacking in legitimacy and drenched in blood. Now the Iraqi people must prove themselves yet again and face the challenges in healing their divided multi-ethnic country. Will the long oppressed Shiite Muslim majority sit down with the long Saddamist Sunni minority? What of the fiercely independent Kurds? And who remembers the Iraqi Christians?

But the fact that the balloting went so well brings both a domestic and international political momentum to the Bush team — a Big Mo which can now be turned to further stabilization in post-Saddam Iraq, a restart of the Israeli/Palestinian peace process, and as importantly, to bring political pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In his State of the Union address Bush singled out Iran as a continuing state sponsor of terrorism. One of his charter members of the Axis of Evil dating from 2002, Iran was not threatened with military force but with chimera of the inevitable political change which awaits the Persian people after the gloomy darkness of the Islamic regime. He stressed “as you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.”

The President did not make specific threats to the Atomic Ayatollahs of Teheran but presented the proper nuance that Washington would be supporting a wide range of reformist and opposition groups.

So now comes the fence-mending and bridge-building phase among allies and many ruffled friends. Significantly Secretary of State Condi Rice shall visit Turkey before going to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Soon the President will go to Europe to meet with European Union officials as well as French President Chirac and German Chancellor Schroeder. The new political atmosphere offers clear opportunities. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic would do well to acknowledge this window of opportunity, reframe relationships and return to common ground.

John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com.




See current edition of

Return toWorld Tribune.com's Front Cover
Your window on the world

Contact World Tribune.com at world@worldtribune.com