CAIRO, 1 June 2004 — Call me naïve but I until I few days ago I strongly believed the UN envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi, would stand up to be counted and deliver to the Iraqi people an interim government worthy of their sacrifices. Why? Because first and foremost he is an Algerian who knows what it is like to live under the boot of foreign occupation. Furthermore, he comes with impeccable credentials and surely wants what is right for his Iraqi brethren, and last but not least he is considered an honorable man, known for his outspokenness.
Brahimi — who was the Algerian minister for foreign affairs from 1991 to 1993 — served as the National Liberation Front’s representative in Southeast Asia during his country’s struggle for independence. He said he would crisscross all Iraq to find the right leader. Iraqis trusted him to do just that.
When the appointment of Iraqi scientist Hussein Shahristani, jailed and tortured under Saddam for his principles, was being bandied, I thought to myself “at last someone who has principles, who can’t be bought. Great!” Instead, what do we find? Brahimi has turned out to be a pushover for the Americans and those US stooges who currently inhabit the council.
Although Brahimi is said to have serious concerns about the new prime minister’s Baathist history and subsequent links to the CIA, when presented with a fait accompli, he accepted the appointment of Ayad Alawi seemingly without a murmur. When criticized, he merely said: “You know, sometimes people think I am a free agent out here, that I have a free hand to do whatever I want.” That may be so, but doesn’t he have free speech? Doesn’t he have the right to object to the council’s choice? He obviously knows a representative of George W. Bush had coerced its members into making it when they had earlier been rooting for Sheikh Ghazi Al Yawar. Why didn’t he speak up?
Iyad Allawi could well turn out to be the right man for the job as far as his personal skills go, but how can the Iraqi people be expected to look up to him when he hobnobs with the occupier’s intelligence services and is not only related to the new interim Defense Minister Ali Allawi but also the fallen-from-grace Ahmad Chalabi, now alleged to have been spying for the Iranians all along.
Like his murky relative Chalabi, Iyad Allawi, who spent decades in comfortable exile, was responsible for passing on dubious intelligence in the run up to the invasion.
In fact, he is said to be responsible for the ridiculous claim that Iraq could attack not only its neighbors but also Britain with WMD within 45 minutes of receiving the order (from Saddam) to do so. Put simply, this is hardly the precursor of any kind of democracy, even a sham version, American-style.
How can the Iraqi people know whether Allawi is working on their behalf or is still on the payroll of the CIA? Will he ever demand that the coalition quit his country along with its crude armies?
Is he going to insist Iraqi oil is for the Iraqis and construction contracts handed out by the Americans without bothering with tenders are null and void? Is he going to prevent a sell-off of Iraqi public entities to foreign corporations? Will he tell Bush that he doesn’t have the right to decide the future of Abu Ghraib, which many Iraqis want to turn into a museum, a monument to the brutality of not only their former ruler but also “America’s finest”?
Why has Brahimi allowed himself to be gagged? What happens to former revolutionaries once they join the establishment? Do they set aside their fire and brimstone in favor of their pensions? Is Brahimi worried about losing invites to White House luncheons if he says what he surely must be thinking? Is he concerned about being hauled over the coals by Kofi Annan behind closed doors if he dares to carry out his mission honestly in the spirit it was intended? Now that his daughter is marrying into the Jordanian royal family, is he afraid to put his head above the parapet, unwilling to court controversy?
Come on Mr. Brahimi. You’re one of the good guys. We’ve always respected you. You’ve recently defended the besieged Palestinians; you gave Afghanistan your best, you’ve worked for peace and honorably led numerous special missions to Africa. You supported the end of apartheid in South Africa, and monitored that country’s first elections, yet charged with what is probably the most important mission of your life in Iraq you shrugged your shoulders and keeled over. The Iraqis expected more of you. You haven’t helped the country by acquiescing. Its people wanted an interim prime minister they could respect — one able to lead them along their new “democratic” road. They are never going to accept Iyad Allawi and the result will, no doubt, be more bloodshed.
Come on Mr. Brahimi. Say what you really think. What’s the worst they can do to you? Hang you up by your heels in Abu Ghraib? Hardly! At best you will gain the admiration and gratitude of Iraqis and all of us who believe they deserve a clean leadership; at worst, you’ll be presented with a parting gold watch.
Whichever is the case, at least you will be able to look in the mirror, remember your fallen compatriots long ago in Setif, and know you kept their noble fighting spirit and all that they stood for alive.
— Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs and welcomes feedback at [email protected]
