Iraqis yesterday heard a ghostly voice from the past. A message supposedly from Saddam Hussein’s former deputy, Izzat Ibrahim Al-Duri has called for this to be the year of victory when the US-led occupation forces are finally driven from Iraq.
Duri has been a wanted fugitive since 2003 with the Americans putting a $10 million price on his head. US generals claim him to be a key figure behind the insurgency but despite the huge sum offered for his capture, dead or alive and frequent dragnets by occupation forces, he has not been found.
Last year when Iraqi officials held secret meetings with die-hard Baathists, the insurgents reportedly claimed to be representing Duri who had succeeded the executed Saddam as head of the Baath Party. Some analysts, however, believe reports that Duri died in November 2005 of unknown causes and suspect that his name has been kept alive by Americans and Baathists, though for different reasons.
In any event, the oddity was how little Duri’s call seemed to chime with the new realities in Iraq. For sure every sane Iraqi wants the Americans out and their country back entirely in their own hands. The only difference in opinion is whether Washington should get out straight away or withdraw in phases so that the Iraqi police and security forces can take over and ensure that the communal clashes which have underpinned so much of the past violence, do not recrudesce. Everyone also shares the conviction that the invasion was not about their “liberation” but about their oil or Israel’s security. The stalled talks on the nature of any US presence in Iraq when Washington’s UN mandate runs out at the end of this year reinforce this belief. Al-Maliki government is rightly demanding a definite timetable for US withdrawal while the Americans are obviously seeking to preserve their power and influence in the country for as long as possible.
Even Barack Obama’s populist call for an “early withdrawal” sounds unconvincing when set against the vast sums of money and lives, not least Iraqi, that Washington has spent in its attempt to bring Iraq securely within its orbit. If he wins the White House, Obama may well say that he finds himself maneuvered “by realities” into a U-turn on his withdrawal commitment.
Therefore, the anti-American rhetoric issued in Duri’s name may seem to be an opportune call from the remaining Baathist insurgents. But the truth is that this is a cry from yesterday’s men. It is unlikely to appeal even to those in the Sunni community who prospered during Saddam’s rule. There is no going back. Any attempt to do so would plunge the country into a civil conflict far worse than the one brought about by the policies and actions of the US-led occupation forces. Iraq’s future lies with a commitment from all Iraqis to work together for a state based on equality for all, not the dominance of one community or ideology over others.
