Arabs should lead Iraq out of its chaos and destruction

BAGHDAD - Iraq slipped into total chaos and the only way out is international decision. Like what happened in Lebanon, 15 years of clashes were not slated to end until regional and international wills fused to put an end to a bloody conflict.

After the terrorist bombing of UN headquarters and the criminal assassination of Shiite leader cleric Mohammed Baqer Hakim and some 100 people who were stepping out of the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, the cycle of violence here in Iraq looks like a vicious one.

Through out my coverage for Alternative, I've been constantly reporting about the shortages of water, electricity and other services. But by far, the most dominant issue in the minds of us Iraqis is that of security which has been deteriorating indefinitely with an increase of looting, unjustifiable bombings on civilian targets and so-called resistance.

The Americans here look perplexed and unable to take the country out of its current state of chaos. Apparently, the help of other countries and especially Arab countries is highly needed.

Here in Baghdad, people look frustrated at the political impotence of Arab states and their shortsightedness. Not that Arab states refused to support the Governing Council, our only existing institution, they also failed to produce viable alternatives.

What are the Arab suggestions to end the Iraqi crisis? They call for the end of American occupation without proposing to send an Arab peace-keeping force. They undermine the legitimacy of the council while at the same time failing to draft a plan that should end the Iraqi turbulence.

True Iraqis should have the right to self determination, but for the time being, and without the presence of any police force that would deter the ensuing cycle of violence, the help of a third party - be it American, Arab or European - is highly needed.

Arabs should understand that Iraqis have not yet forgiven them for leaving the Iraqi deposed dictator, Saddam Hussein, unchecked with his brutality for the past three decades.

We Iraqis believe that we were left to our fate in a cage with a ferocious and hungry beast that devoured what was left of our cultural, intellectual and socioeconomic existence.

Today, we beseech the world to stand up and end our suffering after they failed to end our agonies under Saddam.

It is sad to see American troops dying while trying to police our streets while Arabs watching us die at the luxury of their homes.

Another destructing factor has been the Arab satellite stations that have added insult to injury. In their race to journalistic scoops, and as they try to depict themselves as the voice protecting Arab rights, Arab television have been conveying wrong messages.

There are no pro-Saddam protests here. Footages of a protest hailing Saddam on al-Jazeera were, to say the least, funny and taken out of context. Some 40 young men were raising their hands, smiling to the camera and shouting pro-Saddam slogans.

In other instances, I saw Arab cameramen fixing the content for their Iraqi interviewees. Unlike the Arab regimes, Arab televisions not only failed to help end Iraqi violence, they propagated in favor of its continuity.

To out Arab brethren we say, either play an active role that should end our suffering or take your hands of Iraq and let other nations do the job instead.

Sami Orfali is a student at the Baghdad University and a correspondent for several publications. He wrote this analysis for Alternative