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May 08, 2005
Australian Correspondent Asks Important Questions About Iraq
Nicolas Rothwell, Middle East correspondent for The Australian, contend in a May 7, 2005 article that, "the seizure of Australian hostage Douglas Wood, neatly marking the second anniversary of the U.S. takeover of Iraq, not only strips away the remaining shreds of innocence from Australia's Middle Eastern military support adventure, it also drives home the plight of the West's grand exercise in nation-rebuilding on the banks of the Tigris. He added: Two years on, a Western contractor engaged in reconstruction projects can be snatched from his home and held by insurgents without coalition intelligence officers or Iraqi police having a clue as to his initial disappearance or his present whereabouts.
Two years on, after democratic elections held under conditions of surreal threat and background violence, it has taken three full months for an interim government to agree on a partial ministry.
Two years on, a splendid, Egyptian-provided mobile phone network covers much of the capital, but the US military is not able even to provide a reliable electric power supply.
Two years on, terrorists still roam freely and can devastate a national guard office in the heart of tranquil Kurdish Erbil, killing 50 would-be recruits in the back yard of new President Jalal Talabani. Since the swearing-in this week of the new Government, 250 Iraqis have died in violence. He said, "This balance sheet seems bleak. The events of the past five days compel even the most enthusiastic supporter of the new Iraq to assess the state of progress. A place where Wood can be captured and where scores of less headline-worthy Iraqis with ransom funds are kidnapped monthly is not a functioning civil society. What, then, is it?" Read the full article here.
Posted by Munir Umrani at May 8, 2005 02:00 PM
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