Any decent Iraqi looking on the bloodstained streets of Najaf and Kerbala on Sunday would have felt an overwhelming sense of anger toward those who could perpetrate such savagery. Sixty seven people had been blown to pieces by suicide bombers. The reaction of any normal man is fury.
The terrorists did what they did, precisely so they could stoke up the wrath of the many people who still cling to the belief that only by negotiation and peaceful means can Iraq reach a stable and decent future. The elections, the entire political process, the free press, the rebuilding of the country’s shattered infrastructure, the education and health systems, the reinstatement of reliable oil production and power are all targets of the killers because if they are allowed to succeed, the men of violence will be defeated.
The only way that the terrorists will win will be if they can force moderate men to seek their own violent revenge. Thus if, as is widely assumed, these attacks on two predominantly Shiite cities were mounted by Sunnis, then the aim is clearly to provoke bloody retaliation against Sunni targets. Leading Shiite clerics have called for calm and it must be hoped that they will be listened to. In the past, assaults on Shiite targets both by terrorists and coalition forces have led to similar calls which have been followed. However the attackers are working on the basis that no one’s patience is inexhaustible. It will require only one reprisal for the situation to get out of control.
In the north of the country Iraqis from the Kurdish community have been under similar provocation with bomb attacks and drive-by shootings. Yet there has been no significant retaliation against the local Sunni community. Indeed many Kurds whose homes Saddam’s henchmen took away and gave to Baathist and predominantly Sunni supporters, are still living in tented accommodation awaiting a legal examination of their claims for the restitution of their property.
The good news is that the latest butchery in Najaf and Kerbala has led to the arrest of some 50 suspects. At least angry and grieving relatives can see that there has been swift action by the police and coalition forces. Too often in the past, such dreadful crimes have been shrugged off and little or no action apparently taken. Now it must be hoped that these arrests are based on hard evidence and intelligence. Seizing people simply so as to be seen to be doing something is hardly any better than the original crimes. Those suspects who cannot be linked to the bombings must be released. Detaining them purely because of their background or opposition to occupation would merely inflame passions and play into the hands of the men of violence. And nobody should forget that the near anarchical situation prevailing in Iraq provides all sorts of people with all sorts of opportunities to do all sorts of things. So in a way the final responsibility for everything falls on those who brought Iraq to this mess.
