Is Iraq so helpless?

It is hard to say that they did, but no one knew for sure the depth of the plunder, deprivation and poverty in what was supposed to be an oil rich country. Those of us who visited Iraq frequently in the past year are witness to how Saddam Hussein and his men did nothing for Iraq except to build luxurious palaces and maintain weapons programs with the oil money.

The Iraqi people, be it the majority Shiite Arabs, the minority Sunni Arabs, the Kurds or the Turkmens, are all highly industrious people who can take on any challenge and deliver. Iraq has a good base for talented and well-trained professionals who can really contribute to the reconstruction of the country. You only have to talk to the man in the street or visit families to see the rich human resources of the country.

It is true that bombs are still going off in Baghdad and its environs but this does not mean this is a hopeless situation.

We have been to Iraq soon after the liberation and several times since. Our latest visit with a leading journalist, Cengiz Candar, to Baghdad was only a week ago.

Yes, the bombs are still going off but it is clear that this is the work of agitators who are trying to instigate a civil war between the Arab Shiites and Sunnis and the Kurds. They also target American soldiers and foreign businessmen in a clear war of attrition. Yet, no one is falling into this trap. The Shiite and the Sunnis as well as the Kurds have shown incredible maturity and have not fallen into this trap.

For independent observers like us who have been in and out of Baghdad every few months the situation has improved dramatically in the past year. Yes, there are still traffic problems but the municipal services are picking up and people in general are not as edgy as before. This is the crucial time to make an all-out effort to help the Iraqi people in their effort to restore normalcy in the country. This is the time for the coalition forces to remain intact and not fall into the trap of moving out because of terrorist threats. Bowing to al-Qaeda, like the Spanish are doing, will only sharpen the resolve of the terrorists and will be counterproductive for the Iraqi people.

The international community should now make an extra effort to combat al-Qaeda instead of trying to appease the terrorists.

The Americans have done the right thing in Iraq but for the wrong reason. They should have ousted Saddam for the sake of saving the people of Iraq from the hands of a tyrant regime. Instead they created an arms scare that proved to be wrong. The Iraqi people deserve much better than what they are getting now but we are sure the conditions in Iraq on the same anniversary next year will be even brighter than today.

The Americans have to learn from their mistakes and should make sure not to repeat them.