THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 91, April 21, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THAT OCCUPATION FEELING: U.S. EMBASSY BEHAVIOR IN IRAQ
MAKES FOR AN AWKWARD RELATIONSHIP WITH IRAQIS
By Michael Rubin
HOW THE ATTITUDES & BEHAVIOR OF UNITED STATES FOREIGN SERVICE PERSONNEL IN IRAQ ARE THWARTING
ATTAINMENT OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S POLICY GOALS: HOW THE U.S. EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD IS UNDERMINING
THE PRESIDENT'S PLAN FOR A U.S.-IRAQI PARTNERSHIP & A TRULY SOVEREIGN CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATIC IRAQ
FULL STORY:
Baghdad, Iraq — Three times a week, the newly elected Iraqi National Assembly sits. Committees meet in between sessions. The
novelty for the press has worn off. Members drink tea and soft drinks, and hold sidebar conversations in the hallways, not much
different from the way U.S. Congressmen do in Washington, D.C.
The January 30, 2005, elections were real. Iraqis defied expectations and flocked to the polls. Pride is still palpable. Billboards dot
Baghdad, in Sunni and Shia neighborhoods alike, showing old men and women showing off their purple-tipped fingers. If Iraqis did
not like the billboards, they would have simply defaced them. Most Iraqis remain grateful for the liberation which made elections
possible, but they resent the manner in which U.S.-Iraqi partnership degenerated into U.S. occupation. The issue is not the
presence of American troops. Iraqis across the ethnic and sectarian spectrum recognize that members of the Coalition are putting
their lives on the line for Iraq's future. Rather, the issue is arrogance.
Almost three months after the elections, many Iraqi officials say they have seen no change in American behavior. Iraqi voters
punished Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, not because he is secular, but rather because of corruption within his administration
and because he was more attuned to American issues than Iraqi desires. Likewise, Adnan Pachachi, a U.S. State Department
favorite who often dined with Secretary of State Colin Powell during his visits to Iraq, failed to win a single seat. His mansion in the
Mansour district of Baghdad lies empty. Iraqis disparage their former statesman, who wanted the perks of position but, having lost,
was unwilling to invest time in the country he hoped to lead.
Iraqi political leaders say the new State Department leadership made a diplomatic gaffe when Deputy Secretary of State Robert
Zoellick visited Baghdad accompanied by Laith Kubba who, despite his National Endowment for Democracy position, has had long
personal involvement in Iraqi politics, most recently with Pachachi's movement. That Kubba would accompany an official delegation
may have been innocent, but the victorious candidates interpreted it as the State Department wanting to play favorites, rather than
respecting the Iraqi electorate. Politicians and ordinary Iraqis alike resent the implicit suggestion that U.S. Embassy officials know
better than Iraqis who should lead them.
While some Iraqis increasingly whisper doubt about whether Dawa leader Ibrahim Jaafari can form a government before the time
allotted to him by the Transitional Administrative Law expires, Iraq's political life continues. Politicians' houses fill up at night and
committees hold deliberations by day. They debate a number of issues, not only constitutional issues, but also formation of the
new government. On April 6, 2005, a committee forwarded a proposal to the National Assembly, which voted unanimously to move
the new National Assembly from the Convention Center to the newly refurbished Defense Ministry.
The reasons were many. First and foremost is the issue of sovereignty. The building the Coalition Provisional Authority assigned
to the Defense Ministry had been built as the seat of the Iraqi Parliament, although the 1958 revolution and its volatile aftermath
meant that the Parliament had never met there. Transferring the seat of national sovereignty to the building would symbolize the
rebirth of representative democracy, after a half century of autocratic dictatorship.
Just as important to the elected Iraqi leaders, is the fact that the Defense Ministry lies outside the Green Zone, renamed the
International Zone by American officials, but still referred to by its old name on the Iraqi street. The fortified neighborhood has
come to symbolize everything Iraqis resent. The U.S. Embassy occupies one of Saddam's palaces. Not only is the symbolism
counterproductive, but the continued American presence in the palace is a reminder of the insincerity of American pledges.
Coalition Provisional Authority Administrator L. Paul Bremer had promised the Governing Council that the U.S. government
would not retain the palace after the transfer of sovereignty.
Iraqis increasingly associate the Green Zone with corruption. U.S.-appointed Prime Minister Ayad Allawi appropriated the house
of Saddam's Vice President, Taha Yasin Ramadan. Despite the fact that his mandate was always less than a year, Allawi gave
himself and his Cabinet officials 25-year leases over their temporary Green Zone houses. Former President Ghazi al-Yawar,
though now Vice President, still occupies the presidential palace. Newly elected President Jalal Talabani lives in the same
compound he has possessed for the last two years and, as Iraqis note with favor, outside the Green Zone.
The greatest insult to sovereignty relates to the Convention Center, in which the National Assembly now convenes. The U.S.
military, which seized the building as Baghdad fell, has not donated, but rather rented the facilities to the Iraqi government. Some
Iraqi officials have complained that American diplomats walk in and out of the building, and, on occasion the meeting rooms,
when the Assembly is in session. The National Assembly must share its facilities with more than two dozen American agencies
and offices.
After the Iraqis voted to switch buildings, American diplomats intervened. They interceded with several Iraqi politicians, mostly
high-level officials from Allawi's ousted government, to resist the move. Respect for democracy requires that the U.S. embassy
respect National-Assembly votes, all the more so when unanimous. The U.S. Embassy operates for its own purposes, though.
To move outside the Green Zone would be inconvenient for the Americans. U.S. diplomats like to cover the National Assembly's
proceedings, but State Department security regulations will not allow diplomats outside of the fortified zone without three days'
notice. Furthermore, U.S. political officers may not be outside the security zone after dark. Iraqi sovereignty is simply
inconvenient for the U.S. Foreign-Service lifestyle.
The issues facing Iraq are vast. Iraqis debate the role of religion in their society. Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs debate the future of
Kirkuk. Discussions relating to a Basra-centered southern Iraqi federal unit are picking up. An increasingly mature and
independent Iraqi press is at the forefront of investigating corruption. The arguments Iraqis have are long and sometimes heated.
But, as the January 30 turnout showed, Iraqis take great pride in their sovereignty. The White House does too. Unfortunately, no
one has yet told the American Embassy.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The Middle East & the Problem of Iraq
Page Two
Page One
The Problem of Rogue States:
Iraq as a Case History
Michael Rubin, Editor of the Middle East Quarterly, is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He is currently in
Baghdad, staying outside the U.S.-secured International Zone.
The foregoing article by Michael Rubin was originally published in National Review Online, April 18, 2005, and can be found on
the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
April 18, 2005
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