The colonialists and neo-imperialists do not relinquish power voluntarily or
easily .The current story in Iraq is similar to the British occupation in
early 20th century after the WWI , except that with more savage means of
killing and destruction .
The situation in Iraq is terrible .In terms of employment ,power and water
supply the situation is very disheartening .Nearly 4400 US troops have been
killed , perhaps 60,000 injured and maimed for life .It has cost US around
US$ 700 billion so far .Over a million Iraqis have been killed ( but not
counted by the West as Gen Colin Powell said –we do not do body counts of
others ), with millions of widows and orphans , with 5 million refugees in
Jordan, Syria and internally .Some Iraqi freedom operation this .But the
resistance has not allowed the occupying forces to raise the oil production
to the level of Saddam era , the real reason for the illegal invasion .
I shall be writing a piece on this so called the end of combat mission ,
which is like earlier sovereignty transfer , and Bush's Mission Accompanied
"
I had written a piece on how the situation will evolve in Iraq seven years
ago , below also on the Iraqi resistance and decline of the American
century .The piece below was very widely copied all around the world
specially by western websites and blogs .
Take care Gajendra 2 September , 2010 Mayur Vihar
FOUNDATION FOR
INDO-TURKIC STUDIES
Tel/Fax ; 0040216374602
Amb (Rtd) K Gajendra Singh
Emails; Gajendrak@hotmail.com
Flat No 5, 3rd Floor
KGSingh@Yahoo.com
9, Sos Cotroceni,
Web site www.Tarafits.com
Bucharest (Romania ).
15 July, 2003
*ASIA** TIMES *online – **
* *
*Iraq**'s history already written* 15
July, 2003
By K Gajendra Singh http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EG15Ak01.html
US chief administrator L Paul Bremer unveiled Iraq's 25-member governing
council in Baghdad on Sunday. It now looks like the beginnings of the rule
by the British Governor Sir Percy Cox in the 1920s, after the British had
carved out three provinces of the Ottoman empire after its collapse in World
War I. After a long national resistance, King Feisel II - of a
British-appointed dynasty - and his prime minister, Nuri-as Said, were
overthrown and killed in a 1958 military takeover.
The new council (1) replacing Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party regime consists
of 13 Shi'ite Arab members ( who form nearly 60 percent of Iraq's 24 million
population but who had for many years been excluded by the Sunni elite),
five Sunni Arabs, five ethnic Sunni Kurds, who have lived in autonomous
north Iraq since 1991, one Turkoman and one Assyrian Christian. The council
includes three women and some tribal leaders. But it is not yet clear
whether the council will have one leader, or some kind of a joint or
rotating leadership.
The council will have some political muscle, such as the power to name
ministers and approve the 2004 budget, but the occupying powers, the
US-British Coalition Provisional Authority, which the United Nations
essentially was forced to recognize through *force majeure*, will retain the
ultimate power in Iraq until a constitution is drafted, approved and
elections held.
Before the war, the US and Britain made tall promises of almost instant
democracy, but Bremer, who arrived in May, rejected an earlier proposal to
hold a national conference to name an interim government, saying that the
country was not yet ready. He instead proposed an advisory body, which upset
many politicians, especially exiles such as Chalabi, the erstwhile blue-eyed
boy of the US, who had been promised an interim government. The
deteriorating security situation and an increasingly restive and sullen
Iraqi population, has brought about the present dispensation.
A positive note seems to be that some lessons have been learnt by the US
neo-conservatives, who still rule Iraq from the Pentagon like Mongol
warlords from their *ordu yurts *( army camps). This is the advice given by
UN special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello, a former High Commissioner
for Refugees, who has all along insisted that it was essential that the
council had some "popular legitimacy" to give it credibility among the Iraqi
public. Perhaps only fuller participation by the UN might save the situation
from getting completely out of hand - with a reported 10 attacks a day
taking place against occupying troops.
During World War I, Britain promised freedom to the Arabs and encouraged
them under Hashemite ruler Sharif Hussein in Mecca to revolt against the
Sultan-Caliph in Istanbul (and deputed spy T E Lawrence to guide them ). But
the war's end did not bring freedom to the Arabs as promised because, at the
same time, by the 1916 secret Sykes-Picot agreement, the British and French
had arbitrarily divided the Sultan's Arab domains and their warring
populations of Shi'ites, Sunnis, Alawite Muslims, Druse and Christians. The
French took most of greater Syria, dividing it into Syria and
Christian-dominated Lebanon. The British kept Palestine, Iraq and the rest
of Arabia.
Britain also denied Kemal Ataturk's new Turkish republic the oil-rich
Kurdish areas of Mosul and Kirkuk, now in northern Iraq . Turkey has never
really relinquished its claim and interest in regaining Kirkuk. The British
had propped up oil-rich Kuwait, traditionally ruled by Ottoman pashas, in
Basra to throttle Iraqi access to the Persian Gulf . The 1917 Balfour
Declaration had promised a homeland for Jews in Palestine and European Jews
had started emigrating to Palestine. After World War II, the state of
Israel, carved out of British Palestine, was not recognized by the Arabs and
there have been three wars between Israel and Arabs and two intifadas by a
squeezed and repressed Palestinian people.
After taking over Iraq, the British debated whether to rule it directly, as
they did in India and as advocated by the Colonial Office, or, as promised
before the war to Arabs, grant them freedom and rule indirectly. But events
in Syria forced the British hand. Early in 1920, Emir Feisel established an
Arab government in Damascus and was proclaimed king of Syria, and a group of
Iraqi nationalists in Damascus then proclaimed his elder brother, Emir
Abdullah, king of Iraq. From Syria nationalist activities and agitation
spread first to northern Iraq and then to the tribal areas of the middle
Euphrates. By the summer of 1920, the revolt had extended everywhere except
the big cities of Mosul, Baghdad and Basra, where British forces were
stationed. The revolt was suppressed by force, in which Indian troops played
a role.
In July 1920, French authorities, who had been given a mandate over Syria
and Lebanon, claimed Syria and chased out Feisel. To reconcile the Iraqi
masses and to meet the clamor in London to get out of Mesopotamia, in 1921
Britain offered the Iraqi throne to Feisel, with an Arab government under
British mandate. He accepted the offer on condition that the Iraqi people
agreed to it in a plebiscite, and that the mandate was replaced by a treaty
of alliance. The British government accepted this. A provisional Arab
government declared Feisel king of Iraq on July 11, 1921, provided that his
"government shall be constitutional, representative and democratic". A
plebiscite confirmed this proclamation, and Feisel was formally crowned king
on August 23, 1921.
The next step was the signing of a treaty of alliance with Great Britain and
the drafting of a constitution. The treaty was signed on October 10, 1922
and valid for 20 years, but it reproduced most of the provisions of the
mandate. Britain was to offer advice on foreign and domestic affairs, such
as military, judicial, and financial matters (defined in separate and
subsidiary agreements) and prepare Iraq for membership in the League of
Nations "as soon as possible". But it was soon apparent that the mandate was
still in existence and that complete independence had not been granted.
There was strong opposition to the treaty in the press and among the people.
The period of the treaty was then reduced to four years, but the constituent
assembly demanded complete independence when the treaty was put before it
for approval, but it was ratified on June 11, 1924 after Britain warned that
the matter would be referred to the League of Nations, dominated by European
colonizer nations.
The constituent assembly then adopted the constitution, called the Organic
Law, in July 1924, with extensive powers for the king, and it went into
effect on March 21, 1925. It provided for a constitutional monarchy, a
parliamentary government and a bicameral legislature. The control exercised
by the British treaties was seen by the Iraqi people and their leaders as an
impediment to their aspirations and inimical to the economic development of
Iraq. The impossibility of government by the dual authority of the mandate
was called a "perplexing predicament" (*al-wad' ash-shadh*). In 1929,
Britain announced that the mandate would be terminated in 1932 and a new
treaty of independence negotiated. A new government headed by General Nuri
as-Said negotiated for Iraq 's independence.
The main objective of the political parties was the termination of the
mandate and independence. It was achieved in 1932, but air bases for British
troops were granted near Basra and west of the Euphrates, and Iraq was
admitted to the League of Nations.
While King Feisel was away in Switzerland, there was an Assyrian uprising in
1933 in which many hundreds were killed. The king died soon after this of a
heart attack and his young and inexperienced son became King Ghazi. This led
to a period of palace intrigues, media wars and tribal uprisings. A
non-aggression pact, called the Sa'dabad Pact, between Turkey, Iran,
Afghanistan and Iraq, was signed in 1937. In 1939, shortly before the
outbreak of World War II, King Ghazi was killed in a car accident, and his
son Feisel II ascended to the throne. As Feisel was only four years old, his
uncle, Emir Abdullah, was appointed regent and he ruled for the next 14
years.
*Shi'ite resistance*
After the breakup of the Ottoman empire, in which power had rested with
Sunni Arabs, Shi'ites in south Iraq welcomed the British for having
liberated them from the yoke of Sunni Ottoman oppression. But by 1918 it was
clear that the British had not come to leave in a hurry. So, led by two
sheikhs, Mohammed Taqi Shirazi and Abul Hasan Isfahani, the Shi'ites began
their opposition. Fatwas were issued against the appointment of the
non-Muslim Sir Percy Cox as the governor of Iraq. The whole Shi'ite south
erupted in a revolt when in 1920 it appeared that the British mandate
granted by the League of Nations would mean their continued rule. It was
subdued with great difficulty and Shi'ites remained implacably opposed to
the British, even after they put King Feisel on the throne with a timetable
for independence.
In 1922, Shi'ite leaders issued fatwas against participation in the
elections. Following disturbances, many clerics were expelled, although some
leading ones left on their own for Qum in Iran. However, the expected revolt
did not take place, but the major leaders were only allowed to return in
1924.
After that Shi'ite opposition became more and more muted, and only when an
anti-Shi'ite book was published or anti-Shi'ite measures were taken by the
government did unrest occur. With more participation in politics by Shi'ites
the role of religion decreased and senior clerics became less active. The
cabinets always had one or two Shi'ite members, with Salih Jabr and Sayyed
Muhammed as Sadr even becoming prime ministers. After the overthrow of the
monarchy in 1958, politics became more secular, nationalistic and socialist.
When World War II started, pro-British prime minister General Nuri was
persuaded from not declaring war against Germany. After the fall of France
and under the influence of pan-Arab leaders, extremist Iraqi leaders wanted
to free Syria and Palestine. They also did not cooperate with the British
and did not allow British troops to land in large numbers. When British
contingents entered from the Persian Gulf and Habbaniyah air base in April
1941 the armed conflict that followed with Iraqi forces lasted for a month,
which the British eventually won. This earned them the use of transportation
and communication facilities and a declaration of war on the Axis Powers in
January 1942. Many Iraqis were dismissed from the armed forces, some were
interned, and four were hanged.
Iraq's political system remained unstable, with more than 50 cabinets and 10
general elections before the abolition of the monarchy in 1958. It was a
tumultuous time, with politicians using even armed forces as pressure
against each other until finally they took over in 1958 and abolished the
monarchy.
*Another new beginning*
The 25-member governing council's first action was announced by member
Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum, who declared April 9 as a new national holiday, the
day that Saddam's statue was brought down in Firdaus square, led by exiled
Iraqis flown in a few days earlier with help from a US armed troop carrier.
But tapes purporting to have been made by Saddam keep appearing, nobody
appears to know whether he is alive or dead . Al-Uloum, a Shi'ite cleric,
said that the council would work to revive the economy, improve security and
restore public services. It will also begin work on a new constitution.
The UN representative, Vieira de Mello, called Sunday's meeting a first step
in returning sovereignty to the Iraqi people, but the people on the streets
feel that the council, handpicked and backed by America, won't change
anything as the US will prevail - just like the British did all those years
ago.
*Notes
*
(1) The council members are: Ahmed Chalabi, founder of the Iraqi National
Congress, Shi'ite; Abdelaziz al-Hakim, a leader of the Supreme Assembly for
the Islamic Revolution, Shi'ite; Ibrahim Jafari, al-Da'wah Islamic Party,
Shi'ite, Nasir Chaderchi, National Democratic Party, Sunni; Jalal Talabani,
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Sunni Kurd; Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan
Democratic Party, Sunni Kurd; Iyad Alawi, leader of the Iraqi National
Accord, Shi'ite; Ahmed al-Barak, human rights activist, Shi'ite; Adnan
Pachachi, former foreign minister, Sunni; Aquila al-Hashimi, a female
foreign affairs expert, Shi'ite; Raja Habib al-Khuzaai, female maternity
hospital director in the south, Shi'ite; Hamid Majid Moussa, Communist
Party, Shi'ite; Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum, cleric from Najaf, Shi'ite; Ghazi
Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, northern tribal chief, Sunni; Mohsen Abdel Hamid,
Iraqi Islamic Party, Sunni; Samir Shakir Mahmoud, Sunni; Mahmoud Othman,
Sunni Kurd; Salaheddine Bahaaeddin, Kurdistan Islamic Union, Sunni Kurd;
Younadem Kana, Assyrian Christian; Mouwafak al-Rabii, Shi'ite; Dara Noor
Alzin, judge; Sondul Chapouk, a woman, Turkoman; Wael Abdul Latif, Basra
governor, Shi'ite; Abdel-Karim Mahoud al-Mohammedawi, member of the Iraqi
political party Hezbollah, Shi'ite; Abdel-Zahraa Othman Mohammed, al-Da'wah
Party, Shi'ite.
*K Gajendra Singh**, Indian ambassador (retired), served as ambassador to
Turkey from August 1992 to April 1996. Prior to that, he served terms as
ambassador to Jordan, Romania and Senegal. He is currently chairman of the
Foundation for Indo-Turkic Studies.*
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact content@atimes.com for information on our sales and syndication
policies.)
Operation Iraqi Freedom - End of a Criminal misadventure !
--
Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear
of punishment and hope of reward after death." --
Albert Einstein !!!
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/23701412/War-of-Independence-of-1857
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/21952758/1971-India-Pakistan-War
http://www.scribd.com/doc/25171703/BOOK-REVIEWS-BY-AGHA-H-AMIN
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