The War That Hasn’t (yet) Been Able To Bring Peace

BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- As the US-led operation on Iraq reaches its second anniversary, the causes and effects of the war on Iraq are once more under the microscope. The war began two years ago with the heavy bombardment of Iraq and was said to have ended with the occupation of Baghdad three weeks later. However, the war is still continuing in other ways. That is to say, this war hasn’t (at least to this point) been able to secure the intended peace and stability of Iraq.
Objectively speaking, all of the US’ excuses for justifying the war have been proven wrong and none of its expectations for postwar Iraq have come true. The Bush administration accused Saddam of developing weapons of mass destruction and firmly emphasized that although they had no evidence, they had clear-cut intelligence. (It was revealed later that they were lying.)
Another excuse the US put forward to justify the war was that Iraq had become a center for terrorism. They even claimed that al-Qaeda militants were taking shelter there. According to President Bush, Iraq was a threat to the world as well as the US. Therefore, Iraqis had to be ‘freed’ from Saddam’s dictatorship and Iraq had to be ‘liberated.’
It was later understood that the Bush administration had secret and selfish motives for the war. Under the influence of right-wing hawks, the US attacked Iraq to realize the ‘new order’ it had designed for the Middle East.
The US was able to defeat the Iraqi Army and overthrow Saddam (and eventually capture him). It was even able to give the Iraqis hope for freedom and a prosperous future. But the US hadn’t planned for the era of peace as diligently as the era of war. When the ‘era of peace’ began, the Iraqis realized that their basic needs weren’t being met. Even their life and property weren’t safe. They began to see the US troops as invaders.
The conditions in postwar Iraq helped the supporters of Saddam (members of the Baath Party) recover and build up resistance to the US forces. The result was a bloody war that to date has killed at least 100,000 Iraqis. Washington lost 1,500 troops, and the costs of war dealt the US economy a heavy blow. Most importantly, it lost the support and trust of its allies.
As the war in Iraq passes its second anniversary, the question remains: Has the Bush administration learned its lesson and begun to make down-to-earth peace plans for Iraq?