Let the party begin
I can see celebrations in Basra, Karballa, and Najaf already
March 18, 2003
The Iranian
In the next few weeks Saddam al-Takriti will be toppled by the "coalition of willing" consisting of United States, the ever obliging U.K. and Burkina Faso -- as well as a few misguided not-so-smart American bombs.
The hypocritical President Chirac might seem like The Night in Shining Armor for those sipping Lavazza Espresso at SoHo's Cafe Gitan. But the moral standing of France after Algeria, is as good as Rwanda's Hutus. So from where I am standing, Chirac's more like Don Quixote with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder making a special appearance as Sancho Panza.
Let's be candid. The neo-conservatives in the current U.S. regime are a bunch of nauseating characters that view Arabs and all other brown people in a xenophobic fashion. Yet their anticipated triumph will usher in new dimensions in the geo-political realities in this wretched region that is worth arguing for.
The Iraqis will be liberated, let us not beat around the bush over this. I can see the celebrations in Basra, Karballa, and Najaf already. The average Iraqi household will be healthier, better-off, and more secure five years from now. Democracy, despite all the promises will have to wait.
Beirut's shady discothèques will be packed with a hodgepodge of Saudi royals after Zalmay Khalilzad starts his next project: "democratization" of the House of Saud. For a government that bankrolled Saddam, Mullah Omar and other perceptive characters, we will indeed enjoy seeing the self-labeled custodians of Mecca and Medina in hot water.
The demilitarization of Iraqi society and potential rule of a federalist government could usher in a new era in Iraqi-Iranian relations when the dust has settled. A Franco-German style Elysée Treaty is essential between these two nations (no mater who is running Tehran) as a way of coming to terms with the past.
Palestine will be established as a free state. Perhaps not in 2005 as we are duped to believe by the opportune U.S. "vision", but more likely in 2015 when there is not much of it left at any rate.
Let us not underestimate the colossal events that are about to unfold. A brutal regime is about to be removed, American supremacy as a hyper-power will be established and the French will learn to live with it.