Jan. 30 said it all for the Iraqis and Arabism

Sami Orfali

February 2005

BAGHDAD -- Eight million Iraqis defied violence and went out to cast their votes. What does this say? Does it say that Iraqis are opposed to the American-initiated democratization of their country? Does it say that Iraqis support resistance and are opposed to American occupation?

The answer for all of the above questions is certainly no. The evolution of the Iraqi stance since the accession of the pan-Arab fascist party to power looks something like this: A CIA supported Baath took over power and purged all of its political opponents under the slogan of fighting the Zionist enemy, it repressed everyone and transformed its rule into brutal tyranny.

Meanwhile, the Arabs didn’t budge or see anything wrong with the former dictator Saddam Hussain and his Baath Party. On the contrary, under the slogan of pan-Arabism, Saddam was praised day and night for facing the United States in more than one battle, all of which he lost.

The Iraqis therefore felt they were abandoned. Who wants to liberate Palestine at the time half of his family was massacred? Who wants to oppose America at the time America was the only country, whether honestly pursuing democracy in Iraq or just following its own agenda of interests, stood up to Saddam and ended his terror. If you were an Iraqi, whom would you side with?

Still, the Arabs didn’t give up. They insisted that the American occupation was against the will of the Iraqi people and that the handful of terrorists who are killing more Iraqis than Americans in their so-called resistance were the true opinion of the Iraqi people.

Well, to all Arabs, guess what. The Iraqi people has expressed the opinion of its majority: Iraqis support democracy and have no intention whatsoever to delay the democratization process whether for a greater Arab cause of fighting America or for re-gaining Palestine.

When the Palestinians went to Oslo to sign their Declaration of Principles to end their fight with Israel, no one consulted with the Iraqi people. On the contrary, the most inspiring Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, was perhaps the only Arab leader who sided with Saddam Hussain in his invasion of Kuwait and his suppression of the Iraqi people.

So now guess what. We Iraqis are looking after our own affairs and minding our own business. If other “Arab brothers” want to square scores with the Americans, let them do it on their own soil. If they want to liberate Palestine, let them use their own resources. We are Iraqis and not Arabs and as far as we are concerned, we have nothing more than words of sympathy to say to Palestinians. Palestine is the issue of Palestinians and we have nothing to do with it. Whether they decide to go to a truce, sign a treaty with the Israelis or keep on fighting forever, it remains the call of the Palestinians.

And inasmuch as we mind our own business as Iraqis, we expect that Arabs mind their own businesses as well. We are thankful to the Americans and we welcome their troops and their democracy and this is what the majority of our people said on Jan. 30.

Gone are the days of one people from the ocean to the gulf. We are not a single Arab nation with a unique message to humanity. We’re not one people divided by colonial empires. We are Iraqis, a people who’ve been living for more than four decades under Saddam’s oppression on our own, and that’s how we plan to live now that the dictator is gone: on our own. Jan. 30 said it all.

Sami Orfali is a student at the Baghdad University, Iraq. He wrote this commentary for Alternative