The murder in Iraq of South Korean translator Kim Sun-il, like the killing of Paul Johnson here last week in the Kingdom, demonstrates that there is no dealing with these monsters whose dreams don’t seem to go beyond slaughtering defenseless people. That is what their “jihad” has come to — get their hands on people who have nothing to do with their cause and kill them and do it in the name of Islam and Muslims, bringing eternal shame to both the religion and the community.
We share the grief of the family. May God give them the strength to bear their loss.
The leader of the Al-Qaeda responsible for this latest outrage, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi had demanded that the government in Seoul reverse its plans to send 3,000 more troops to join the 600 already in Iraq. Whatever differences of opinion there were about the legitimacy of the US-led invasion of Iraq, the situation is now entirely different. Sovereignty is going to be transferred to Iraq in a week’s time, and the forces present in the country after the transfer will not be there as occupation armies. They will be there to help the interim government to keep peace. It cannot be any sane man’s argument that Iraq does not need a law-enforcement force. But then, we are not dealing with sane men in this case.
The South Korean government quite rightly stood firm in the face of this blackmail. There was no question of negotiating with the terrorists, in the same manner that it was not an option for the Kingdom when Paul Johnson was a hostage. Had any of their demands been met to the slightest degree, the lives of every other person, foreigner and Iraqi alike, would have been put in jeopardy. Harrowing though these hostage-takings are, they are nothing compared with the open season that would be declared if the thugs learned that they could get their evil way with kidnappings.
The new threat to kill Iraq’s interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi comes in an audiotape believed to have been recorded by Al-Zarqawi. Allawi and all those who make up the interim government know that their determination to do their duty by the Iraqi people is a direct affront to the ambitions of Al-Qaeda. Fanatical bombers and kidnappers have no place in the new multiethnic Iraq. Their only hope of surviving is to reduce the country to chaos with savagery.
Yet for all the daily litany of violence that inevitably grabs the headlines, much — generally unreported — good is happening in Iraq as the country slowly puts itself together again. Progress would be considerably faster were it not for the murder, sabotage and intimidation. Nevertheless, despite the dreadful challenges, order is slowly being created out of the postwar chaos.
This suggests that if Iraqis can manage to soldier on together now despite the immense difficulties, the speed of their advancement when the terrorist scourge is finally crushed will be substantial. It therefore may not be too much to suggest that one of the positive outcomes from these dark days is that Iraqis are learning the lessons of unity and freedom.
