Viewing Iraq: The choice is myopia or strategic vision

Particularly enjoyable was sharing the company of Iraqi Governing Council members and Iraqi ministers alongside the American and British pro-consuls of the CPA, Paul Bremer and Sir Jeremy Greenstock — some of whom I have known over the years — in the reception hall and dining room of the Governing Council building, which formerly functioned as the Ministry of Military Industries of Saddam’s equally notorious son-in-law.

Despite the negative media reports on the security situation in the country, I find Iraq progressing for the good every time I visit. The last occasion was no exception, even though the trauma of the horrendous attacks in Karbala and Baghdad’s holy-to-Shiites suburb, Kadhimiya, was still felt, and even though the rhythm of daily life in Baghdad had been normalized to a certain extent, the security situation had been improved as compared to earlier periods.

Of course, this does not suggest that the uncertainties lying ahead of Iraq’s foggy future have been dispelled or that that future is totally free of the specter of a civil war. The potential for a fatal destiny for Iraq still remains and will do so for the foreseeable future. However, all these should not preclude the positive achievements of the unprecedented nation- building under the aegis of the CPA and with the active participation of the Iraqis themselves. For instance, electricity and oil production have been restored to pre-war levels. A striking example of the amelioration of the economic situation can be illustrated by what Dr. Latif Rashid, the minister of irrigation, disclosed to me: The monthly salary of an engineer who worked for that particular ministry in August 2003 was the equivalent of $5, whereas now it had climbed up to $800! No doubt, the greatest achievement has become the compromise among the disparate Iraqi groups that led to the "interim constitution."

Iraq, being the homeland of the Hammurabi tablets, which are considered the first legal documents of the human race, may prove to be the first successful experiment of federal democracy in the Middle East. The impact of such an achievement would go beyond the Levant, stretching to the Greater Middle East, a codename used nowadays to describe the Islamic world in its geographic continuity. And the Iraqis seem to be aware of this — the role that has befallen them in the making of history. Perhaps that is why, despite all the odds and reservations they maintain, they were able to manage the compromise that produced the blueprint, a sort of first "bill of rights" in the Middle East.

The Iraqi "interim constitution" is a unique text of federal democracy. It does not resemble the American, Canadian, Swiss, Belgian or German models. Those may have inspired it, but it has its own peculiar character: Iraqi!

That could not be possible without making every Iraqi "reasonably unhappy." The prime minister of the Kurdish regional rule in Sulaimaniya, Barham Saleh, quoting New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, said, "We, as Iraqis, are all, reasonably unhappy with this constitution." My response was, "Then, it is balanced and fair, as much possible." After all, I went through the intense debate surrounding the Annan plan for Cyprus. Since it did not satisfy the Greek and Turkish diehards on the island nor the parochial, nationalist and conservative circles in Greece and Turkey, I am one of those who subscribe to its fairness and fairly kept balance. Reservations concerning the Iraqi "interim constitution" evoked in me the memories of those sterile discussions on the Annan plan.

The spirit of the Iraqi interim constitution is defined in its Article 52, under the sub-title "Regions, Governorates, and Municipalities." It reads: "The design of the federal system in Iraq shall be established in such a way as to prevent the concentration of power in the federal government that allowed the continuation of decades of tyranny and oppression under the previous regime."

In this respect American Middle East expert Graham Fuller is right in responding the question, "The interim constitution is a confederal one that was the product of several compromises. Will it work?" by saying: "There is still a good deal of vagueness about the constitution, but certainly there is recognition of the different regions. I don’t think anyone, including the Sunnis or the Kurds, feel they are going to be left out in the cold."

Satisfying the Iraqi Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Turkomans and all the other Iraqis displaying an impossible diversity and in order to keep them on board for the reconstruction of a new and democratic Iraq — surrounded by allergic, nervous and powerful neighbors — is a colossal mission to undertake. But taking on the challenge to bring out the "product" will also yield colossal rewards, thus making it worthwhile to undertake.

The "passage" through 2004 to 2005 in Iraq will probably constitute the most exciting "interim period" of recent political history. It would not be surprising to witness the most devastating acts of terrorism and violence in the ancient land of Mesopotamia. Yet let us all get ready to look at the full glass.

Iraq seems perennially to present a case of a "half-full/half-empty glass." Myopia leads us to see it in its latter form. If you have strategic vision, you will see it in its first form. In the beginning of the week, thanks to that historical occasion in Baghdad, I was able to see Iraq as such.