In three articles published by the London-based Arabic daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, columnist Kamel Al-Sa 'doun, an Iraqi writer who resides in Norway, justified the U.S. occupation and political rehabilitation of Iraq. The following are excerpts from the three articles:
The Occupation of Iraq is a Blessed Liberation
"Yes, the occupation is a blessed and promising liberation for Iraq, even if the U.N., Europe, Russia, India, and all the Arabs say otherwise. The logic of international law could be of interest to the French, the Germans, the Russians and the Arabs, who are enamored with it… but not to us, the Iraqis. International law should not be of interest to us in any form or shape, because Saddam's dagger was dripping Iraqi blood, not Russian or Arab [blood]. Saddam's plague wreaked havoc with us, the Iraqis, not with the Arab League's minions, nor the Russians or the Chinese! The Iraqi tragedy, which exceeded any rational boundaries, was and continues to be at the epitome of its viciousness and degeneracy.
"While others were sipping Araq [an alcoholic drink] in the most upscale resorts in Baghdad, thousands [of Iraqis] were being buried alive in Iraq's sands, deserts, lagoons, [and] vast and godforsaken plains. And while Arab journalists, intellectuals, politicians, and poets came to sing with their trilling voices, to beat the drums [in support of Saddam] and to take pictures with Latif Nassif, Jassim and Nawal Al-Aloussi, and the rest of the Ba'ath Party 'gang'- hundreds of [Iraqi] poets, scientists, and writers were dying [on] the war-front and in torture dungeons. During more than three decades, the dagger of death extricated Iraqis from their homes, their families, their work places, their schools and their [children's] playgrounds…"
Hundreds of Thousands of Mass Graves
"Look at the mass-graves… [Lest you say] no more than a few thousands, 10, 20, 50 thousand… No, there are hundreds of thousands of bodies that have not been unearthed as of yet, hundreds of thousands of human lives who could have become a rich resource for humanity. Every Iraqi, every Arab, and every human being should ask himself for the reason they were murdered, before he [waves] the banner of international law. We the Iraqis were candidates [to have the same fate as] the Hutu and the Zulu tribes, the Cambodians, the victims of the Holocaust and the millions of Russians massacred at the hands of Stalin. Considering the blindness of international law and the apathy and lack of compassion of our Muslim brethrens… and supposing that the U.S. had remained silent and in a truce with Saddam, we could have lost millions of additional lives in wars waged by Saddam, his sons and his grandsons.
"If the justification for the war was not very clear prior to its onset then following the liberation there has been no doubt about it in the mind of anyone who has any sense. It has become clear in light of waves of Arab mercenaries crossing the borders [into Iraq]… Saddam Hussein prepared for war, and anyone who claims otherwise is lying blatantly. It is true that he did not deploy his missiles, and it is true that he did not strap explosives to hundreds of thousands of his suicide seekers and guards so that they can blow themselves in the midst of Americans and Brits – the way Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rantisi [of Hamas] was hoping. But Saddam prepared a different weapon, more effective and more dangerous…
"Saddam Hussein's war was not against the Americans… Saddam's war was first and foremost against the Iraqis, including his own clan and household relatives. Therefore, his weapon… was more degenerate than any WMD, and he convinced himself that with it he could cast his fear on others. Saddam Hussein released from prison tens of thousands of the most die-hard criminals and murderers, after eliminating the last political prisoners he had in his hands…
"Therefore, the liberation of Iraq is an utterly blessed and positive deliverance, even if Germany, France, Russia, China and all the Arabs say otherwise." [1]
The Occupation of Iraq is Not Colonialism
"There is no doubt that occupation, military rule and civilian administration are humiliating… but in Iraq's case they are a good, healthy, and the most promising solution… Human civilization has already forsaken the exploitation of nations at the hands of other nations, [therefore] realistically… this occupation has nothing in common with the old colonialism… and if the nations of the world and world public opinion stand behind us… this occupation will become tolerable and will bring us considerable benefits.
"Surely, an occupation that takes place in the 21st Century, in a mostly free world, is painful. But, what brought us to such a predicament… Is it not [Saddam's] fault that the Iraqis were unable to change their [regime... except] by arms and direct military occupation? Who led us into a situation in which Iraqis vehemently asked the Americans and the British to occupy their country and to drive Saddam and Chemical Ali's gangs away…? Is it not the silence of the Arab countries that brought this [upon us]…?
"Civil administration is the most effective and healthiest solution… for Iraq's future, which we hope will be better than the [past] fifty bloody years of the republican era: The republic of the autocrat Abd Al-Karim Qassem, the republic of the brothers [Abd Al-Salam and Abd Al-Rahman] 'Aaref, and the two republics of the Ba'ath Party [headed by Saddam]." [2]
No Escaping Help from the Americans
"Iraq and the whole region are on the threshold of deep fundamental changes… My country reached [a level of] devastation that other [nations in the area] never experienced… As we all know, the Americans, who took upon themselves to affect change, are the trail blazers in eliminating a bloody regime the likes of which the world has never seen… [We should admit] honestly that if we want to affect true change in Iraq, one that will cut through the layers and reach the core, there is no escaping [help from the U.S.]
"We the Iraqis have already proven our helplessness. With all our ideological forces, our leaders, our masses and the weapons we possessed, we have proven our inability to move even a single hair in Saddam Hussein's mustache… and since only the Americans are able to change Iraq, and since they are the only arm capable of reaching the thief in his den, the terrorist in his cave and the despot in his hiding stronghold… there is no escaping from American help…"
If We Want an American Umbrella to Re-Educate Our Leaders
"I, along with the frightened, faceless, and forgotten Iraqis, want warm friendly relations with the Americans. Relations that leave no opportunity for bankrupt theocrats to maneuver and raise their empty heads demanding national sovereignty through which we will be dominated by [their] false and outdated slogans, those same slogans that brought upon us the [present] state of degradation… During tens of years, we were governed by terror organizations, Chemical [Ali's] agents, smugglers, pimps, forces as [archaic as] dinosaurs and mobs… [W]e do not want an American umbrella that will allow past slogans or a ruler… to rape our future under the pretext of national sovereignty… We do not want that.
"[What we want] is a safeguard that will create an open vista in which we can thoroughly reexamine our assumptions, just like Germany, South Korea and other nations… which the Americans liberated…" [3]
