Should we stay or should we go??

I read a couple of fascinating articles this morning on this important question. The first should be read in its entirety and is taken from a opinion piece by Ali Hasan, the last remaining reporter for The Iraqi Press Monitor of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. This is one of the most insightful articles I have read on the current state of Iraq, and truly gives and insiders view of what is happening on the streets of Iraq. Its a long, but a very worthwhile read:

The Republic of Fear Lives On
by Ali Hasan

After a year of success in helping to rebuild the media in Iraq, we of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting have been left with only one option: to close down our Baghdad office.
We feel defeated and we are frustrated. Adding salt to our injuries, none of us Iraqis can talk about our work in our neighborhoods, and even to our close friends. We fear that we will be branded as the spies and collaborators of the occupation. There are many whom we fear: The Board of Muslim Clerics, the foreign Jihadis, Muqtada al-Sadr, Zarqawi's people, and finally Saddam's henchmen.

Before liberation we were only afraid of Saddam's people. But today the list is long.
When I first picked up Kanan Makiya's book "The Republic of Fear", (after Saddam's departure, of course), I could identify with every single word that was in it and hoped that the republic of fear had gone once and for all. But today, I feel it is business as usual: the business of fear, intimidation, indiscriminate killing, torture, and beheading.

In Iraq today, people have a myriad of violent movements to fear. Significantly, the violence and the so-called resistance are found, in the great majority of cases, in the Sunni triangle: Fallujah, Tikrit, Samara, and Mosul. These areas were favored by the former regime, and their reaction to the collapse of that regime is logical.

Almost a year and a half after the war, we are still afraid of talking against Saddam's regime. But, the irony is that this is the case in what is supposed to be an era of freedom. And we are afraid not only of the former regime but also of new figures that have popped up and been added to our list of fear.

One such figure is Muqtada al-Sadr. We cannot openly express our opinions of him, particularly opinions of disapproval. While his supporters follow him blindly, the germ of his popularity is the stand that his father, Muhammed Sadiq al-Sadr, took under the former regime. He openly stood up in the regime's face. His stand cost him his life when he was assassinated by the regime in February 1999.

As for Muqtada, he is young in terms of religious authority. He is extremely young to be a marjia or religious leader--another reason to recognize that people follow him due to his father's reputation. Yet his father's stand was powerful and brave in an age when no one dared to say anything at all except to praise the regime. Muqtada's followers see his father not him.
Another source of fear that has emerged in the wake of the US-led invasion is the Muslim Clerics Board, claiming to represent the Sunni sect in Iraq. On September 17th, 2004, Al-Hurra satellite channel interviewed Board member Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar al-Samarai. The channel asked the Sheikh to issue an edict banning murder of civilian foreigners, but the Sheikh would not. Although the Sheikh did not openly approve kidnapping and killing civilians, he did not object to it either.

Many of my friends have assured me that the Board allows the killing of any foreigner, whether a civilian or not. Recently, two French journalists were kidnapped. Their kidnappers said they would release the Frenchmen if told to in an edict issued by the Board. But the Board did not issue one. The very same Board already called for releasing all the civilians kidnapped. But the clerics contradicted themselves by refusing to issue an opinion on the fate of the French journalists.

In fact, almost all the Board's members were supporters and beneficiaries of the former regime. So, logically they are victims of the new system in Iraq. On September 6th, 2004, Al-Ittihad newspaper reported the following news:

Some information implicating the Muslim Clerics Board in most of the kidnappings is being investigated. Anonymous sources in charge of the investigation said they had received information from a neighbouring country, in addition to confessions from a kidnapped person. That person pretended not to know Arabic but listened to conversation between someone the source refused to name and another person in charge of the Board's military wing. The Iraqi services are waiting for the French journalists' crisis to end so they can make the details public.
While you are in Iraq beware of talking against the Board for you might get kidnapped and beheaded.

In the wake of the last war, I wanted to release the pressure of silence I had endured for 25 years [my age then]. But after a while, I realized we were still suffering from the fear to speak out. I do not deny that I am still afraid while writing this story. But there is always a first time, and someone must do something.

Once, my friend asked me why I thought now was better than under the former regime. I said to him, "I know that I might get killed in any of the car bombs or simply by a quarrel, or by one of the celebratory bullets Iraqis fire everyday. But this is much better than being in one of Saddam's prisons or under his reign. I never felt safe under Saddam."

I've also met a number of foreign journalists. One of them, in the midst of a conversation, said to me, "Now that you are a free man..."

I interrupted him, saying, "I am not yet free."

Officially and in reality, power used to be in the hands of Saddam and his henchmen. Today, the real power is still in Saddam's henchmen's hands. Officially, it is in the government's hands, but the current interim government is simply not powerful. Nobody fears its authority. You can openly criticize it and swear about it fearlessly. On the local radio station Dijla, guests and announcers criticize the government's performance.

The problem with the country is that it is paralyzed, and paralysis regarding security is only one side of the problem. Besides, we are just sitting and watching as if we are not involved. We were passive observers and are still so. We need everyone's support to help us stop our fears. Terrorist groups make it to the headlines simply because they stir up trouble.

The majority of us are still marginalized. Anyone can cause a disturbance and make it to the headlines, including me. But I do not want to do so. I want my country to be rebuilt. It is easier to destroy than to rebuild. And terrorists take the easy way of publicity. This indicates they are bankrupt and desperate.

I do not want my children to lead the same sort of life I had in my childhood and youth. I want them to live fearlessly. I want to put an end to "The Republic of Fear." But I cannot do that all by myself. My countrymen have to support me, even if they are afraid.

I have had long arguments with my friends about the occupation and the opponents of the occupation. I told them that I was not in favor of the occupation. On the contrary, I am totally against it. But dismissing it should not be done now, because if we do so now the country will descend into sheer chaos. I also told them that the country had been occupied for a long time. It was occupied by Saddam. And those who now claim to be resisting the occupation should have resisted Saddam.

Moreover, the Security Council resolution of power transfer gave the Iraqi government the right to dismiss the multi-national forces. But it is the government that keeps the foreign troops for security concerns. For the time being, I do agree with the government's decision, for we need these foreign troops.

I know the former regime is not coming back. But evil powers cling to this hope and even bet on it. We gave them the chance once to be in power, and we are not ready to give it twice. We should not make the same mistake twice. I am convinced that IraqÂ’s rehabilitation is just a matter of time, and it is our turn to decide how long that will take.

"It is only the Iraqi government that you can freely speak against," says Jihad al-Mandilawi, a guard.

I will post the other later today.