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Two Dictators, Two Eras, One Cause |
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The opinions
expressed in this commentary are solely those of the
author |
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Two Dictators, Two Eras, One Cause
24.3.2011
By Hiwa Osman - ekurd.net |
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March
24, 2011
For those who are trying to justify why removing
Saddam was wrong but removing Qaddafi is right, I
say do not waste your time. Just look at the people
of Iraq and their history. The images coming out of
Libya are a reminder of Saddam Hussein’s brutal
suppression of Iraqis in 1991.
The comparison between Iraq 2003 and Libya 2011 is
simply wrong. The 2003 operation was 12 years late.
What we are seeing today in Libya is a flashback to
Iraq’s uprising 20 years ago this month, when the
people took control of the south and north, leaving
Saddam with what later was called the Sunni
Triangle.
The international community did the exact opposite
of what they are doing in Libya today, and the
people of Iraq — not the regime — paid the price. In
fact, most of the anti-Americanism in Iraq stems
from the failure of the US and the international
community to support Iraqis during that difficult
period.
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Hiwa Osman, IWPR Iraq’s country director, previously
served as Iraqi president Jalal Talabani’s media
adviser. |
After encouraging the people of Iraq to rise up
against Saddam in 1991, then-US president George
Bush Sr. turned his back on Iraqis and allowed
Saddam to fly his helicopters, killing tens of
thousands of Iraqis. The international community did
not impose the no-fly zones until after the
uprisings were crushed – bodies were already being
piled into mass graves in the south, while in the
north Kurds were fighting for their lives and
millions fled to the cold mountains in Iran and
Turkey.
The United Nations then imposed sanctions over the
next decade that left the country impoverished and
with crippled infrastructure and services that have
never recovered.
Those who claim that the Iraq war wasn’t justified
because there was no resistance against Saddam are
wrong. Iraqis attempted the popular uprisings that
are now sweeping the Middle East, and paid dearly
for it.
Without minimizing the gravity of any crime, let’s
not forget that Saddam carried out mass murder on a
scale that cannot be compared to Qaddafi or any
other Arab leader. His regime committed acts of
genocide and crimes against humanity. It doesn’t
matter whether these acts were carried out right
before the invasion of 2003,www.ekurd.netbecause
the fact is that Saddam’s brutality, especially in
1991, guaranteed that an uprising wouldn’t happen
again. He crushed the rebellions, especially those
in the south, ensuring that people stayed silent
forever.
Iraqis waited many years for the international
community to act because they could not throw Saddam
out on their own. In 2003, as the international
community engaged in heated philosophical and legal
arguments over the invasion, the people of Iraq
couldn’t care less – they just wanted Saddam gone.
They also were not aware of the debate because
Saddam ensured that there was no access to the
outside world. Iraq did not have internet,
satellite, or mobile phones until 2003, and all
other means of communication were monitored.
In the end, removing Saddam was a true liberation
for Iraqis, even if the post-war planning was
flawed.
There are various geopolitical and other factors
that are to be closely analyzed when comparing Iraq
and Libya. Iraq had Iran as a neighbour, who tried
to dominate the southern uprising in 1991. It also
had Saudi Arabia, who encouraged the Americans to
allow Saddam to crush the uprising.
Libya has Free Egypt and Free Tunisia next door. In
1991, the world had a single CNN dish beaming out of
Baghdad — the devastating atrocities could not be
documented for the world to see. Today, thanks in
large part to Facebook and Twitter, regimes cannot
hide the dictators suppression of their citizens. In
1991, the US had George Bush, who was intent on
protecting oil and political interests; today, the
president is Barack Obama, who is more of a
“people’s president”.
The justification for military action in Libya is
now about protecting the people’s human rights and
humanitarian needs, as it should have been in Iraq
given the brutality and threats Saddam’s regime
posed to its own people. While internationally the
military intervention in Libya might be
controversial, it should not be. It is a crucial
transformation that supports citizens and rights
over international interests.
It is important that the international community
learn from Iraq in 1991. The same mistakes cannot be
made in Libya. Qaddafi must go.
As the standard for intervention today is to protect
people, it raises a moral quagmire for those who
opposed regime change in 2003 but support it today.
It is very difficult to find a moral justification
for their opposition to Saddam’s removal. A good way
to resolve this conflict is to admit that regime
change was needed – but it came 12 years too late.
To those who oppose “international aggression”
against Libya, I say your days to be taken seriously
are numbered. Soon you will be the laughingstock in
Facebookstan and Twitterstan. Or it may come out
that you were a beneficiary of these regimes, as
were those who opposed the war in Iraq and
benefitted from the oil-for-food program.
Instead of explaining how you were right in 2003 and
still right today, have the intellectual and moral
courage to admit that you were wrong then and right
now. Perhaps you were just blinded by hatred toward
the US and to George W Bush, and a selective memory
that failed to recall Saddam’s brutal legacy.
Despite everything that has happened since 2003,
Iraq today is a better place. No Iraqi can even
begin to comprehend what Iraq would have looked like
today if Saddam was not removed.
The world has changed, in large part because of
Iraq, and it is only a matter of time before the
likes of Saddam and Qaddafi are gone for good. The
new Arab world will definitely be a better place
without their dictators. Already, we are feeling the
difference.
Hiwa Osman is IWPR’s country director in Iraq, previously
served as Iraqi president Jalal Talabani’s media
adviser, a regular contributing writer for ekurd.net. You
may visit Osman's website at www.hiwaosman.com
Copyright © 2011 ekurd.net
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