Untitled Document
By Ralph Peters
The garbage truck was inspiring. Making the early morning rounds, its energetic
crew collected the trash from a tidy residential street in a hopeful city booming
with construction sites. That wouldn't be a big deal in America. But this was
in Iraq.
While the media concentrate on the combat and confusion to the south, I recently
visited the north of the country, where Iraq's 5 million Kurds have brought off
a near miracle: They've built a financially efficient, rule-of-law democracy in
the Middle East. Elsewhere, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) spends billions
to keep a failed state on life support. While the rest of Iraq's population wallows
in the region's addiction to blame, the Kurds have rolled up their sleeves and
gone to work. There is a lesson here for Iraq — and U.S. policymakers, who
insist on keeping Kurdistan a part of that blood-soaked country.
This month, in the Arab sections of central and southern Iraq, insurgents,
religious extremists and international terrorists indulged in an orgy of kidnapping
and killing of U.S. troops. Yet, in the north lies Suleimaniye. Here, in the
capital of one of the two Kurdish regional governments, officials are writing
zoning laws, demanding environmental impact statements from builders and making
education funding a priority.
In the streets, women walk freely and safely, dressed any way they wish. Only
a minority choose Islamic garb — head scarves, not veils. The regional
prime minister, Barham Salih, wants to increase the number of female government
officials, describing them as "harder working" than men and "utterly
incorruptible." And there are no forced marriages.
Just over 45% of the university students are women. Males and females study
side by side. Internet use is free to all students. There is no censorship or
political influence on campus. Not one of the oil-rich Gulf states rivals this
still-poor country's educational freedom — or standards. There's a department
of religious studies, but it's only one of 16 departments (and far from the
most popular).
Still, the Kurdish government isn't content. It hopes to build a world-class
"American" university to develop its human capital. As the rest of
Iraq threatens to implode, the Kurds are racing against time to develop their
infrastructure and provide opportunities for their population. International
business is welcome, contractors aren't murdered, and even the Turks, longtime
opponents of the Kurds, are investing.
If only the Kurds had a disaster or two, then someone might tell their story.
Of course, the Kurds do face significant problems. After decades of underinvestment,
a growing economy has overtaxed the power system. Refined petroleum products
have to be imported — in an oil-rich country. And hundreds of thousands
of internal refugees, displaced by Saddam Hussein, face uncertain futures.
The biggest problem, though, is Washington's insistence that Kurdistan remain
part of Iraq. The Kurds are doing their best to support our policies, despite
skepticism about the country's future. They're determined that, if Iraq disintegrates,
they won't be to blame. They want to make us happy, almost desperately.
If anyone believes that no good came of deposing the old regime, he or she
should talk to the Kurds. For them, generations of oppression, ethnic cleansing,
torture and massacre ended when Saddam's statue fell. But with hostile powers
on their borders, their future security depends on America's goodwill. As terrorists
campaign to drive the U.S. from the Middle East, the Kurds are begging for U.S.
military bases on their territory.
When American politicians of either party describe the Middle East they'd like
to see, they're describing the Kurdistan that already exists — in fact,
if not in law. Yet, coalition authorities in Baghdad devote their efforts to
holding a Frankenstein's monster of a country together — just as we and
our allies earlier tried to force Yugoslavia to remain whole — while ignoring
what the Kurds have already achieved. Instead of supporting our only friends
in Iraq, we try to please implacable enemies by pouring billions of taxpayer
dollars into cities whose people assassinate U.S. soldiers.
An ironclad military rule is "Don't reinforce failure. Reinforce success."
In the attempted reconstruction of Iraq, our policy is just the opposite.
Diplomats always have plenty of "good" reasons for doing the wrong
things. Borders can't change; stability must be achieved; regional sensibilities
must be taken into account — the list of reasons why we cannot live up
to our own professed ideals and support Kurdish self-determination is nearly
endless. But a moment of truth is approaching: Either we support democracy,
or we don't.
Why not hold a referendum? Why not let the Kurds decide their own future?
The United States needs to be clear: America isn't failing the rest of Iraq.
The Iraqis are failing themselves. The war to depose Saddam handed them an opportunity
no other power would have or could have given them. If, despite the U.S. investment
of blood and treasure, Iraq's Arabs decide to squander their chance for a peaceful
and prosperous future, there may be painfully little the United States can do
about it.
But where freedom, the rule of law and democracy already exist, the United
States should offer its support. There are three things the United States can
and should do for the Kurds: guarantee their long-term security against neighboring
countries; ensure that they receive their fair share of reconstruction aid and
Iraq's oil revenue; and, if the rest of Iraq pursues bloodshed and destruction,
support an independent Kurdish state.
Kurdistan isn't Iraq.
Go there and see.
Ralph Peters is the author of Beyond Baghdad: Postmodern War and Peace.
Source: USA
Today
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