Only with help can a new nation emerge

By Ali Al-Zahid

Jun. 16, 2006

It happened again, our next Abu Ghraib scandal. This time it is called Haditha. Should the accusations against the U.S. Marines prove true, it would be a setback for all: for the American government, for those of us who always cherished the liberation of Iraq, and especially and most notably for the Iraqi people. It is they who need the presence of U.S. troops most. It is they who live under daily threat from al-Qaeda and the supporters of Saddam Hussein. It is they who have to give their lives every day for a democratic Iraq.

Last month, I met an old friend at the Munich airport who had gone to Iraq in May 2003 to contribute to the development of a democratic Iraq. I hadn't seen him since July of that year. I remember how we spent the evening exchanging our visions of a new Iraq, sharing our dreams about our country's future.

We are the same age, both victims of the Baath regime. Our families suffered during those years, and we buried many relatives and friends. I was imprisoned after my father spoke critically of the regime. Still, when in April 2003 coalition forces reached Baghdad, our first thoughts were not of revenge. No, what we and many other exiles wanted above all was to know the truth about our missing family members. Second, we wanted to help to build a new Iraq.

We had thousands of ideas, thousands of dreams waiting to come true. We just needed the peace and stability that would allow us to finally start working. But our hopes were shattered. Those who had suppressed us, tortured us, killed and exiled us did not give up. They continued acting as they had before, with indescribable brutality.

Since April 9, 2003, Iraq has been confronted with suicidal terrorist attacks, corruption, a Europe that is still unwilling to help us, and neighboring countries that try everything in their power to prevent this new Iraq.

The toll of lives is hardly bearable. Last month, more than 1,400 civilians were killed in terrorist attacks. Only recently my friend lost two colleagues in Baghdad. They were kidnapped and killed by terrorists. If someone had told us that Iraq would be like this three years after liberation, we would not have believed it. Nevertheless, we would still have supported the liberation with utmost conviction. We know we cannot lose this fight! These terrorist groups can kill individuals, but what they will never understand is that this new Iraq does not depend on a single person, but on the imagination of the masses.

It may be that much is not as was hoped for, but what would it mean to give up? It would mean betraying all of the people who gave their lives during the years of the dictatorship and in the last three years. We would betray all Iraqis who stood up for democracy. We would betray all of the U.S. soldiers who died so far from home.

Neither Iraq's continuing ethnic divisions, in my eyes its road to ruin, nor the return of religiousness has contributed to the democratization of Iraq. It is understandable that the country's majority Shiites, who were brutally suppressed, now want to parade their religion. They want to break the chains they wore for 35 years. But at the same time, we have to talk about other values, about democracy and human rights.

There are safe regions in Iraq, and we have to take care of them. We have to show that terror will not stop us, as we did recently by making Abu Musab al-Zarqawi pay for his horrible crimes. Now, this country needs new ideas. It needs people who are willing to take risks. It needs the support of the rest of the world.

A new Iraq will be possible only with the support of the United States. There will be much to discuss. The partnership will be put to the test again and again, in Haditha and elsewhere. But the partnership must never break. We must find ways to work together. Those who question whether this cooperation is possible do not know our determination and have never understood America.

Ali al-Zahid (ali.alzahid@gmx.at) is the leader of Iraquna, a think tank for Iraqis in Austria.