this article, written by an Iraqi, appeared last week in an Iraqi newspaper called Azzaman ... it sounds like hope is a commodity difficult to come by over there ...
source:
http://www.watchingamerica.com/azzaman000029.htmlBy any standards our (the Iraqi) government is a total failure. So what is it that prevents its collapse? In the first place, many question the belief that there is a functioning government in Iraq. After all, of there were responsible government, would it remain silent vis-à-vis the calamities that have descended upon the nation?
Nothing seems to function properly in Iraq and the government has no control whatsoever over the course of events. It cannot issue orders to U.S. troops who are in effect the real masters. In fact the government owes its existence to their presence. And because the government only feels safe as long as the troops are around, it apparently sees no reason to put its house in order, while the very purpose of having U.S. troops here is to do just that - put OUR house in order. They have failed and there is no sign they will ever succeed.The equation, many say, is crystal clear. The government is in urgent need of the occupation for protection. And despite the daily dose of tragedy faced by occupation forces, they are - in a way - happy with the status quo, because it gives them some form of legitimacy. <skip>
This is why we have yet to see a minister with enough courage to resign in protest over these conditions. The government and the league surrounding it know that they are complete failures, but have no intention of acknowledging the tragedy or the fiasco they have created for us. A responsible government would have admitted its blunders, apologized to the Iraqi people and resigned to give way to more efficient leadership. But performance seems of little interest to our rulers. Prosperity, stability and security, once achieved, would undermine their true purpose.
Because if the bombs stop, food is made available, electricity returns, crime is checked and the country is back on its feet, the Iraqi people would then turn their attention to the most pressing issue - how to drive occupation troops out of the country.
It doesn’t take a genius to understand that both the government and the occupation need each other, and that both thrive on our misery.