will saddam triumph from the grave?

Mar. 26, 2003
Will Saddam triumph from the grave?
By Michael Freund


Though his regime may be tottering on the brink of defeat, Saddam Hussein paradoxically appears headed toward his greatest, and most salient, of victories.

By provoking the United States and defying the will of the international community, the Iraqi dictator has succeeded in bringing incalculable ruin and misery on his own people, sacrificing their wealth and resources on the altar of his own cult of self-glorification.

He has singlehandedly transformed Iraq from a cradle of civilization to a grave for his people and their aspirations, reducing a once-proud country to the status of international outcast.
All that, of course, is finally about to come to an end, as US-led coalition forces advance toward their objective, albeit at a somewhat slower pace than might have been hoped. Eventually, though, Saddam will go down in defeat, if only because his dictatorial rule rests on fear, rather than fealty.

But if the background noises emerging from various quarters in London and Washington are any indication, the fall of the Iraqi dictator may portend the rise of yet another brutal regime, one located a few hundred miles to the west, in Palestinian-controlled Ramallah.
Fearful of the Arab world's anger over Western intervention in Iraq, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has forged an axis with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, pushing and cajoling George W. Bush to make "Palestine" his number one post-Iraq priority.

Media reports this week that the CIA is establishing a special department to oversee implementation of the "road map" leading to a Palestinian state are but the latest in a string of indications that Israel will soon be asked to pay the political price for the war in Iraq.
Call it the Mother of All Ironies: Saddam's downfall may turn into his most formidable of triumphs, as the removal of his regime sets the stage for the creation of Palestine, at Israel's expense.

The ostensible logic behind such a move, if one can call it that, is undue concern over how the Arab street will react to the sight of the Stars and Stripes being hoisted over downtown Baghdad.

Indeed, in recent days this has been the subject of numerous reports in the media, as rallies and protests throughout the Arab world denounce the outbreak of war.

"Anger mounts in Arab world," CNN's web site reported on Friday. "Arabs seethe as TV brings Iraq destruction home" said Reuters on Satu*rday.

Not to be outdone, both The New York Times and The Washington Post have run stories in the past few days on the prevailing sentiment in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, using terms such as "volcano" and "boiling" to describe the current mood.

WHAT THESE stories have in common is that they project the image of an aggrieved Arab public, one whose rage is motivated not so much by the misery of its own domestic discontent but by America and its actions, chief among them support for Israel.

Moreover, they suggest that such public anger is what drives the behavior of Arab rulers, who cannot help but respond to the demands of their people by taking steps such as condemning the US and its "aggression" at Monday's session of the Arab League.

But that, of course, is a distortion. It represents precisely what the Arab regimes would have us believe, namely that their hands are tied by the will of the people, the very same people they repress and ignore in virtually every other area of civic life.

The public that is given no voice regarding freedom of religion, speech or the press suddenly becomes the determining factor in how Arab regimes relate to America. Go figure.

Worse yet, in seeking to explain Arab anger the media inevitably justify it too, as though a US attack on Iraq were a legitimate reason for a housewife in Morocco or a salesman in Lebanon to hate America and the West.

But that only begs the question: What right do the Arabs have to be angry at all? If anything, they should be thankful that the US and its allies are ridding the world of Saddam and liberating the people of Iraq from his tyranny.

A free and secure Iraq will, in the long run, strengthen the Arab world rather than weaken it, providing a model for its neighbors to follow. It will serve as a beachhead for freedom and development, one whose growth and progress will inexorably alter the landscape of the area for decades to come.

The real source of anger in the Arab world and the one requiring immediate attention is the collection of unelected sultans, emirs, monarchs and despots who rule over hundreds of millions of people with an iron hand. The only thing they despise more than Saddam himself is the liberty that will replace him, because it will stand in sharp contrast to the manner in which they subjugate their own citizens and squelch their advancement.

So rather than seeking to appease Arab anger over Iraq by feeding Israel to the wolves, the US and Britain would do well to ignore it and focus instead on an alternative course of action, one that will truly bring about lasting change in the region.

Once the war is over Washington and London should press ahead forcefully for democratization and reform, insisting on a sea-change in the relationship between Arab rulers and those whom they rule. Preempting terror need not be limited to military action it can also entail creating a political environment which breeds free discourse rather than jihadists and suicide bombers.

The very idea of putting Palestinians on the diplomatic agenda ahead of tens of millions of Saudis, Syrians and Egyptians, is neither logical nor fair. By pushing such a proposal Tony Blair and Colin Powell are seeking to apply a short-term solution to a long-term problem. The fact is that creating a Palestinian state in an environment dominated by archaic Arab regimes is a recipe for still more tyranny, not less.

And that would merely serve to prolong Saddam's legacy in the region.

My advice to America and Britain is: Ignore the Arab League's temper tantrum, and keep marching toward Baghdad.

And once the job is complete, set your sights on bringing freedom to the rest of the Arab world, where the need for liberty is no less pressing or acute.

The writer served as Deputy Director of Communications & Policy Planning in the prime minister's office.